SAN JUAN, TX - Just about everything tastes better with the crisp, savory, and fragrant addition of onions—from its irresistible punch when diced and tossed into homemade salsas to the perfectly layered rings that sit atop our barbecued patties during hot summer festivities. Lucky for us, Rio Fresh has much to offer supermarkets throughout its home state of Texas and beyond.

When I gave salesperson Courtney Schuster Moore a ring one Tuesday afternoon, I was welcomed by a fun chat with part of the family. Courtney, her brother, Sales Manager Taylor Schuster, and her father, Grower Fred Schuster, filled me in on how onion season is shaping up, as well as the company’s plans for the upcoming season.

The full line of onions is looking great, and Fred assures me that the Lone Star Sweet 1015 harvest is going especially well. Seasonality for this onion variety is just revving up; the company cut its first field the day of our chat, which was toward the end of February.

“The onions right now look very good. They’ve gone through a long, cold winter, which was a little unusual for us, but they came through it very well. Now that we are starting to get warmer weather, we’re really starting to see them bulb and grow. We are actually starting to knife our first field of onions today,” Fred shares, explaining that all of its Texas onions are grown, hand-picked, and packaged by the family-run company.

With a bountiful harvest in the works out of Tampico, Mexico, and, come the first week of March, Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, I ask them how shipments of the company’s Texas onions can boost sales for retailers.

“We have been working on branding and special packaging that emphasizes that these onions are homegrown in Texas. Our Lone Star Sweet is our signature Texas 1015 sweet onion. We’re focusing on high-graphic consumer bags, boxes, and packaging that highlight they’re the sweet Texas onions that people love to enjoy in the spring,” Courtney explains, before expanding on the special touch the family puts in every shipment. “Our operations are on the land that we have been farming for over 75 years, so quality is very personal for us.”

Retailers throughout the country who have this springtime favorite to offer their consumers will find that merchandising the juicy and sweet onion variety is as easy as remembering a favorite springtime pastime: barbecues with friends and family. The three recommend that retailers pair their Lone Star Sweet onion with hamburger necessities for easy BBQ party pick-ups.

“We’ll be starting our Lone Star Sweet 1015 in Texas stores the first week of March,” Taylor tells me. “Springtime rolls around, and everyone is outside barbecuing. I think it’s great to have a delicious sweet onion to top a BBQ sandwich.”

Those looking to tap into Rio Fresh’s sweet onions this spring can get their hands on the variety through mid-June, Taylor adds.

As we make our way into longer days, Rio Fresh is bringing the tastes of its Texas sweet onion to those throughout the nation, reminding consumers of how great life tastes when matched with the variety’s fresh crunch.

Rio Fresh