TA Artisan Red Onions

Tanimura & Antle's Artisan Sweet Italian Red Onion packaging has been completely redesigned to communicate the onion's premium value, flavor and exceptional quality. Director of marketing Diana McClean explains, "Our consumer bags have a new look, as does our display carton that holds 2- and 3-lb consumer bags. We've also just started shipping a new retail floor display bin in two sizes: the small bin holding 40 lbs of loose onions and up to 120 lbs in the larger bin."



The high-impact graphic retail floor bins give retailers a chance to cross merchandise onions throughout the store with the meal suggestions shown on the bins. A QR (Quick Read) code, is included on all packaging elements to offer consumers an immediate opportunity for more information. Linking to the Artisan Sweet Italian Red Onion product page on the Tanimura & Antle website, consumers can scan the code with smart phones and access additional product information, a field tour and recipes.



As the only year-round grower of Italian sweet red onions, Tanimura & Antle has created a sub category niche with its Artisan variety that originates from a proprietary seed and 20 years of experienced breeding. With dedicated facilities for processing and packing in California, Texas and Arizona, orders for the Artisan red onion can easily be consolidated with other T&A commodities at the company's coolers in Salinas and Yuma.

All clipping and harvesting of the Artisan red onion is done by hand to maintain quality control. Onion commodity manager Anthony Mazzuca says, "Our hand clipping methods allow us to touch the onion only once in the field, rather than twice by most growers, which reduces bruising and mechanical damage. All the onions are packed in our sheds located in each growing region, allowing us to pack the freshest product without transporting long distances."



Packing in sheds improves control over the quality and sizing of each onion with strict internal quality control standards used prior to all shipments. Tanimura & Antle has also invested in weighing machinery so that each box can be weighed and inspected to ensure that there are no underweight issues upon delivery.

According to Jeff Antle, general onion manager, packing lines have been upgraded in all locations to improve product quality and sizing, allowing T&A to market the most uniform and highest premium quality onion possible. "We've also invested in consumer packing equipment to expand our product line to include 2-, 3-, 5- and 8-lb consumer bags," comments Antle.

Source: Tanimura & Antle

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