Texas Onion Industry Wraps Up Its First-Ever Marketing Campaign; Dante Galeazzi Comments
MISSION, TEXAS - Retailers are reflecting on soaring sweet onion sales, as it was recently revealed that the 2021 Texas 1015 Sweet Onion (TX1015) marketing campaign, TX1015 Sweet Onion Campaign, has officially wrapped for the season. And a successful season it was. This first-ever campaign for the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) focused on consistent branding and marketing for the coveted variety, providing industry awareness and generating excitement with new branding and messaging, in addition to a host of consumer outreach tools leveraging iconic Texas colors and symbols.
“This type of marketing focus is long overdue to create the brand awareness that Texas 1015 onions deserve,” Dante Galeazzi, Manager of the South Texas Onion Committee and Chief Executive Officer and President of TIPA, explained. “It was fun to watch the energy and excitement of consumers build around the TX1015 brand, and in turn get retail buyers giving Texas 1015’s a closer look. It will be fun to see what we can do next season.”
The 2021 sweet onion crop harvesting ended in late June, and the marketing campaign ended on July 9th. The new marketing program was funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Grant administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture and reached American consumers through a variety of platforms, engagements, and campaigns.
According to a press release, the program focused on telling the stories of history, place, and people that make these onions special, led by the theme “Farmed by Texans, Famous by Families."
The program utilized both traditional and digital marketing methods to engage with consumers, resulting in over 18,000 direct social engagements, 14 new TX1015 recipes, and over 1.4 million impressions in a MAT release. The marketing campaign also highlighted TX1015 growers, packers, and shippers in a two-part video series called “How do you eat a Texas Sweet Onion” and “South Texas Farming–Building a Family Legacy.”
The planning phase for the 2021-2022 TX1015 marketing plan will begin in September, and planting of the TX1015 crop begins in October 2021.
Following the success of this campaign, we can only wait and see what next season’s strategies will bring. Keep reading ANUK as we report.
