Some Vidalia growers assert famous onion trademark in jeopardy
Some Vidalia growers assert famous onion trademark in jeopardy
Concerned for the integrity of the sweet Vidalia onion name, growers of the prized crop are taking legal action against National Onion Labs Inc. in Collins, GA, a company that uses scientific means to verify and certify the sweetness of its clients' onions.
Josh Archer, an attorney with Balch & Bingham in Atlanta, which represents a group of Vidalia onion growers who feel that the extra sweet certification claim is an infringement of the Vidalia trademark, said that a lawsuit was filed Feb. 27 against National Onion Labs that would force it to stop using the verbiage.
"On behalf of our clients, a letter was delivered to Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin on February 8 stating that the use of the trademark in this way dilutes the value of the Vidalia onion, and that our clients would take legal action in 10 days if he did not agree to the growers demands," said Mr. Archer. In response, the attorney generals office and a patent firm, Needle & Rosenberg, located in Atlanta, have brought a lawsuit against National Onion Labs. It is the states responsibility to protect the trademark, and consequently to stop the use of it.
The controversy surrounding the issue has been ongoing and has to do with pungency testing, which measures the pyruvic acid content of sweet Vidalia onions to gauge their hotness, which can be a valuable indicator of quality in a sweet onion. Some value the rating, while others discount its reliability and caution against using the data as a marketing tool.
Although the Vidalia onion industry operates under a marketing order, there is no mandatory pungency testing.
Our position is that if a consumer goes into a grocery store and sees 'Vidalia Onions next to Certified Extra Sweet Vidalia Onions, they will think that one is a superior product, said Mr. Archer. That therefore dilutes the strength of the Vidalia onion name. We told Commissioner Irvin that he is charged with protecting the mark, and that his office can not allow this to happen.
But it is happening.
On March 1, David Burrell, president of National Onion Labs, said that on behalf of its clients, his firm has been engaged in a major marketing effort in the United States to promote the Certified Extra Sweet name, which it also has had trademarked. His firm had not yet been served with the lawsuit when he spoke with The Produce News, and he said that he did not know that a lawsuit was in the offing.
The demand notice to Commissioner Irvin appears to be totally baseless and an attempt to manipulate the buying community, said Mr. Burrell. The certification from the state of Georgia confirms that the onion is grown in a specific geographic area and is an approved variety. Ours [NOL] is a certification of a flavor characteristic of that onion. The issue is not about onions grown in some geographic proximity.
Mr. Burrell said that his firms certification is applicable to both imported and domestic onions that claim to be sweet onions, and that annual U.S. imports are as much as 700 million to 800 million loads in the category.
What is now occurring in this category on a global basis is the same thing that happened to Vidalia onions prior to the marketing order, he said. Until it was enacted, people were bringing all kinds of onions into Georgia and marketing them as Vidalias. Today, numerous groups are claiming their onions are sweet, but they dont have the proper characteristics to stand up as sweet product. We test for those flavor qualities in an effort to protect our customers from mislabeling. It is simply a consumer-oriented flavor-assurance program. Its not any different than a third-party audit or a good manufacturing practices program.
Mr. Burrell founded National Onion Labs in 1998. Although there are over 100 Vidalia growers in the state, only three or four are clients of his company. However, he said that the percentage of the industry he represents must be measured in terms of acreage and not number of growers.
We represent between 20 [percent] and 25 percent of the Vidalia acreage as clients, he said. The total Vidalia acreage in 2005 was approximately 15,000.
The cost of National Onion Labs services, according to Mr. Burrell, is about $60 per acre, which pays for testing performed in accordance with the Georgia Department of Agriculture. But the organization is also currently involved in a major marketing campaign. While Mr. Burrell said that the amount of money being spent on the campaign is proprietary information, it is obviously not an inexpensive endeavor. NOL has been actively promoting in New York City to media representatives from major magazines. The promotional gift packages that accompany the marketing efforts include gift items and a certificate for a free 20-pound box of Vidalia onions, which would be shipped when the coupon is mailed back to the NOL office and when the crop is harvested starting in May. Mr. Burrell said that the grower-clients were paying for the campaign.
The campaign is an effort to put Vidalia onions is the best light, said Mr. Burrell. There is not another production region in the world that can produce a significant quantity of onions that can attain the Certified Sweet status. The funds for the campaign are not included in the $60 per acre cost for our services, but it is funded by our clients.
Growers on the opposing side of the issue do not feel that NOLs ultimate goal is so beneficial to the industry. L.G. (Bo) Herndon Jr. of L.G. Herndon Jr. Farms Inc. in Lyons, GA, said, Weve already got the best onion in the world, and NOLs theory would only give other onion varieties a shot at equaling the Vidalia. They claim they are doing this for the good of Vidalia onions, but theyre not. Theyre doing it for financial gain. And just imagine the mess at retail that would result if produce departments had to start separating onions this way. It would do much more damage on every level of the industry.
Stanley Farms in Vidalia, a grower with about 1,000 acres of the prized Vidalia onions, is in favor of the certification. Brian Stanley, one of three third-generation family members who work in the company, said that it is an attempt to stop other onions from making the claim that they meet the same low pungency as Vidalia onions.
We are not trying to say that our Vidalias are sweeter than the growers down the street, he said. But it does mean that unless the pungency level of an onion meets a certain criteria, it cannot be marketed with the term Certified Extra Sweet. We feel that the only way to successfully compete with onions from other areas of the world is we must be able to make the claim that we have been tested and are proven to meet a certain pungency level.
Delbert Bland, president and chief executive officer of Bland Farms, also in Vidalia, does not agree with Mr. Stanley. The majority of growers feel it is an unnecessary sales gimmick. It is up to the state to enforce the trademark, and that is what we hired an attorney to look into. We have been advised that it is an infringement of the states trademark. We intend to pursue this effort to its fullest extent to stop the activities, Mr. Bland said.
As the administrator of a marketing order, the Vidalia Onion Committee, also based in Vidalia, must remain neutral. Wendy Brannen, executive director of the committee, said that it is the organizations responsibility to uphold the wishes of the member-growers.
Some are pro and some are con, she said. Whatever is finally decided is what we will abide by, but our function is not to take an active side in the decision-making process.
In the meantime, National Onion Labs activities will likely change within the next couple of days. Mr. Archer said that meetings have been organized with officials and representative involved in the issue. He added that it is sad, however, that growers cannot work closely together.
It is such a great product, he said. Tremendous successes would result if the growers could work together closely. It is a strong product with a very solid name, and one that is known internationally. They could develop and maintain an impenetrable product that protects the Vidalia mark and serves to propel it forward for every growers success. It would be energy much better spent than for them to battle over whose Vidalias are sweeter than the next guys.
Josh Archer, an attorney with Balch & Bingham in Atlanta, which represents a group of Vidalia onion growers who feel that the extra sweet certification claim is an infringement of the Vidalia trademark, said that a lawsuit was filed Feb. 27 against National Onion Labs that would force it to stop using the verbiage.
"On behalf of our clients, a letter was delivered to Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin on February 8 stating that the use of the trademark in this way dilutes the value of the Vidalia onion, and that our clients would take legal action in 10 days if he did not agree to the growers demands," said Mr. Archer. In response, the attorney generals office and a patent firm, Needle & Rosenberg, located in Atlanta, have brought a lawsuit against National Onion Labs. It is the states responsibility to protect the trademark, and consequently to stop the use of it.
The controversy surrounding the issue has been ongoing and has to do with pungency testing, which measures the pyruvic acid content of sweet Vidalia onions to gauge their hotness, which can be a valuable indicator of quality in a sweet onion. Some value the rating, while others discount its reliability and caution against using the data as a marketing tool.
Although the Vidalia onion industry operates under a marketing order, there is no mandatory pungency testing.
Our position is that if a consumer goes into a grocery store and sees 'Vidalia Onions next to Certified Extra Sweet Vidalia Onions, they will think that one is a superior product, said Mr. Archer. That therefore dilutes the strength of the Vidalia onion name. We told Commissioner Irvin that he is charged with protecting the mark, and that his office can not allow this to happen.
But it is happening.
On March 1, David Burrell, president of National Onion Labs, said that on behalf of its clients, his firm has been engaged in a major marketing effort in the United States to promote the Certified Extra Sweet name, which it also has had trademarked. His firm had not yet been served with the lawsuit when he spoke with The Produce News, and he said that he did not know that a lawsuit was in the offing.
The demand notice to Commissioner Irvin appears to be totally baseless and an attempt to manipulate the buying community, said Mr. Burrell. The certification from the state of Georgia confirms that the onion is grown in a specific geographic area and is an approved variety. Ours [NOL] is a certification of a flavor characteristic of that onion. The issue is not about onions grown in some geographic proximity.
Mr. Burrell said that his firms certification is applicable to both imported and domestic onions that claim to be sweet onions, and that annual U.S. imports are as much as 700 million to 800 million loads in the category.
What is now occurring in this category on a global basis is the same thing that happened to Vidalia onions prior to the marketing order, he said. Until it was enacted, people were bringing all kinds of onions into Georgia and marketing them as Vidalias. Today, numerous groups are claiming their onions are sweet, but they dont have the proper characteristics to stand up as sweet product. We test for those flavor qualities in an effort to protect our customers from mislabeling. It is simply a consumer-oriented flavor-assurance program. Its not any different than a third-party audit or a good manufacturing practices program.
Mr. Burrell founded National Onion Labs in 1998. Although there are over 100 Vidalia growers in the state, only three or four are clients of his company. However, he said that the percentage of the industry he represents must be measured in terms of acreage and not number of growers.
We represent between 20 [percent] and 25 percent of the Vidalia acreage as clients, he said. The total Vidalia acreage in 2005 was approximately 15,000.
The cost of National Onion Labs services, according to Mr. Burrell, is about $60 per acre, which pays for testing performed in accordance with the Georgia Department of Agriculture. But the organization is also currently involved in a major marketing campaign. While Mr. Burrell said that the amount of money being spent on the campaign is proprietary information, it is obviously not an inexpensive endeavor. NOL has been actively promoting in New York City to media representatives from major magazines. The promotional gift packages that accompany the marketing efforts include gift items and a certificate for a free 20-pound box of Vidalia onions, which would be shipped when the coupon is mailed back to the NOL office and when the crop is harvested starting in May. Mr. Burrell said that the grower-clients were paying for the campaign.
The campaign is an effort to put Vidalia onions is the best light, said Mr. Burrell. There is not another production region in the world that can produce a significant quantity of onions that can attain the Certified Sweet status. The funds for the campaign are not included in the $60 per acre cost for our services, but it is funded by our clients.
Growers on the opposing side of the issue do not feel that NOLs ultimate goal is so beneficial to the industry. L.G. (Bo) Herndon Jr. of L.G. Herndon Jr. Farms Inc. in Lyons, GA, said, Weve already got the best onion in the world, and NOLs theory would only give other onion varieties a shot at equaling the Vidalia. They claim they are doing this for the good of Vidalia onions, but theyre not. Theyre doing it for financial gain. And just imagine the mess at retail that would result if produce departments had to start separating onions this way. It would do much more damage on every level of the industry.
Stanley Farms in Vidalia, a grower with about 1,000 acres of the prized Vidalia onions, is in favor of the certification. Brian Stanley, one of three third-generation family members who work in the company, said that it is an attempt to stop other onions from making the claim that they meet the same low pungency as Vidalia onions.
We are not trying to say that our Vidalias are sweeter than the growers down the street, he said. But it does mean that unless the pungency level of an onion meets a certain criteria, it cannot be marketed with the term Certified Extra Sweet. We feel that the only way to successfully compete with onions from other areas of the world is we must be able to make the claim that we have been tested and are proven to meet a certain pungency level.
Delbert Bland, president and chief executive officer of Bland Farms, also in Vidalia, does not agree with Mr. Stanley. The majority of growers feel it is an unnecessary sales gimmick. It is up to the state to enforce the trademark, and that is what we hired an attorney to look into. We have been advised that it is an infringement of the states trademark. We intend to pursue this effort to its fullest extent to stop the activities, Mr. Bland said.
As the administrator of a marketing order, the Vidalia Onion Committee, also based in Vidalia, must remain neutral. Wendy Brannen, executive director of the committee, said that it is the organizations responsibility to uphold the wishes of the member-growers.
Some are pro and some are con, she said. Whatever is finally decided is what we will abide by, but our function is not to take an active side in the decision-making process.
In the meantime, National Onion Labs activities will likely change within the next couple of days. Mr. Archer said that meetings have been organized with officials and representative involved in the issue. He added that it is sad, however, that growers cannot work closely together.
It is such a great product, he said. Tremendous successes would result if the growers could work together closely. It is a strong product with a very solid name, and one that is known internationally. They could develop and maintain an impenetrable product that protects the Vidalia mark and serves to propel it forward for every growers success. It would be energy much better spent than for them to battle over whose Vidalias are sweeter than the next guys.
