MISSION, TX - The Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) continues to shine a spotlight on TX ag, this time pointing toward the onion sector. The successful 2024 TX1015 sweet onion season was boosted by an online social influencer program, sweepstakes, a restaurant week promotion, a KSAT TV partnership, and more.

“Our marketing activities are created with the purpose of sparking a connection between the product and the consumer,” remarks Dante Galeazzi, President of TIPA. “It is imperative to tell the story of our state vegetable and by enacting a range of well-developed and specifically targeted tactics, we are expanding the sweet onion category one layer at a time.”

Enacting an influencer program was key to reaching Millennials and younger age brackets. The creators included recipe developers, authors, and bloggers who all have a passion for creating meals with local ingredients. The total reactions were 343,165, a press release stated.

Additionally, the Third Annual Restaurant Week returned with 17 food trucks and restaurants who created dishes using the TX1015 sweet onion. A finale event was held at the McAllen Food Truck Park where attendees had the opportunity to taste the sweet creations for themselves. Online promotions for the event and public voting garnered a 2,200.7 percent increase in brand awareness.

The team also released a cookbook titled Sweet Flavors of The Lone Star State, A TX1015 Cookbook, highlighting trending recipes, fun facts, and educational tidbits. Also, for the second year in a row, David Elder, host of Texas Eats, created an on-air segment along with social posts highlighting the TX1015 sweet onion.

“On behalf of the Texas Onion Industry, we are very proud of the accomplishments we saw from this year’s campaign. Texas grows by more than 850 citizens per day, which is a lot of new people to introduce the TX1015 Sweet Onion to. By establishing stronger connections within major Texas and national markets, we continue to increase recognition and consumer preference, putting Texas onions in a great position for next season,“ concludes Galeazzi.

This work was funded, in whole or in part, by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service under the Specialty Crop Block Grant administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Keep reading ANUK for more category updates.