Apr 24, 2023

South Texas Onion Committee promotes Texas 1015 brand strategy

The Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) is busy promoting Texas 1015 Sweet Onions (TX1015).

This spring, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Block Grant administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture will fund another record-breaking marketing program. Aimed at retailers and consumers, the campaign focuses on increasing brand awareness and sales of the TX1015 sweet onion.

April marked the official launch of the comprehensive marketing campaign that includes print, digital and live and in-person promotions throughout the season. Among new or improved retailer initiatives this season are an extensive trade advertising program and greater in-store promotions.

To facilitate brand awareness about the original sweet onion, TIPA kicked-off the TX1015 season with an informational virtual field tour at the Viva Fresh Expo in late March and early April in Grapevine, Texas, in the Dallas metropolitan region.

The consumer-focused promotions in this year’s campaign will reach farther and wider than any previous year, according to a news release. Consumers should keep their eyes open for fun promotions including sweepstakes and weekly giveaways, a food influencer recipe program and contest with resulting cookbook, a feature story by Texas food legend David Elder of Texas Eats, and the TX1015 Eat Sweet restaurant week event hosted in the Rio Grande Valley.

“We’re excited we are able to dedicate additional funds to retailer-centric promotions that highlight the versatility and flavor of the state vegetable of Texas,” Dante Galeazzi, committee manager and TIPA president and CEO said in the release.

“This year’s robust campaign is already off to a fantastic start and we’re confident it will reach our audiences and leave an impact,” Galeazzi said in the release. “Many consumers are not aware that all U.S.-grown sweet onions were bred from the original TX1015 sweets and we’re on a mission to fix that.”

In late April, harvesting of the TX1015 onions was well underway with excellent quality and availability expected to continue through early summer.

The South Texas Onion Committee was founded in 1961 as a result of Federal Marketing Order #959 South Texas Onions. Order #959 authorizes quality regulations, research and promotion programs, and markings, pack and container regulations for onions grown in South Texas. The STOC is made up of growers and shippers handling onions in the 35 counties of South Texas that make up the governed area.

The TIPA was founded in 1942 and represents more than 330 member companies as they educate, advocate, promote and represent the fresh produce industry of more than $8 billion dollars that is either produced in Texas or considers Texas its first point of arrival for domestic distribution.