Texas 1015 sweet onions wrap up harvest and promotion season

The Mission, Tex.-based South Texas Onion Committee was busy this spring and into early summer promoting Texas 1015 sweet onions, resulting in a record-breaking marketing program that bolstered brand awareness and demand for the Texas 1015 sweet onion, according to a news release. 

The Texas 1015 onion harvest season has wrapped up, and yields were plentiful despite excessive and heavy rains did damage some fields. Reflecting growing interest, acreage expanded by 40% to meet the rising demand of the Texas 1015 variety, the release said.

Related news: Fresh Trends 2023: Onions on the rise

To promote the Lone Star State’s onion, the South Texas Onion Committee says it launched its most comprehensive campaign to date aimed at retailers, consumers and fresh produce industry peers that included in-person, print, digital, television and in-store promotions throughout the Texas 1015 sweet onion season, said the release. 

Multichannel promotions

Kicking off the Texas 1015 onion season with a virtual field tour at the Viva Fresh Expo, 184 attendees received a virtual look into a harvest field and learned more about the process that goes into delivering Texas 1015 sweet onions from farm to grocery cart, according to the release.

“The virtual field tours are always popular and ‘get back to the dirt’ by providing a valuable look inside the operations that deliver our nation’s first sweet onion to market each year,” Dante Galeazzi, manager of the South Texas Onion Committee and president of Texas International Produce Association, said in the release. “Because the tour is live, it is like visiting the operation for yourself and creates great dialogue between our Texas farmers and the stores that will eventually offer Texas 1015 sweet onions to consumers.”

Related news: Onion industry leaders, researchers to host National Onion Association Convention

This year’s consumer-focused promotions included a social media campaign, sweepstakes and food influencer recipe program and contest featuring seven influencers. New to consumer promotions this year and greatly amplifying promotion reach were an Instacart ad campaign and story segments published on television and digital channels by Texas icon David Elder of KSAT12’s "Texas Eats."  

Also noted is the popular TX1015 Restaurant Week. Hosted in the Rio Grande Valley, the event featured seven restaurants highlighting regional favorites featuring Texas 1015 sweet onions, the release said.

The campaign integrated retailer promotions and trade advertising together with this season’s program, according to the release.

“The proof is in the numbers. This year’s robust campaign successfully reached audiences directly, through social media, through retail, and through trade — and it left an impact,” Galeazzi said.