GLENNVILLE, GA - With supply chain challenges, rising costs, and an uncertain spring ahead of us here in North America, having a great supplier partner can help retailers navigate the new environment of today and anticipate the needs of tomorrow—partners like Bland Farms. Sweet onions continue to be a hot item in fresh produce departments and as the market balances on a dynamic edge, Troy Bland, Chief Executive Officer joins me to pull back the layers on the landscape today.
“We remain optimistic for a strong market although this year brings new challenges. We do anticipate shortages due to supply chain issues and the rising costs of goods and services, which will most likely have our produce aisles looking a lot different this year,” Troy tells me. “The current market for sweet onions—as well all onions—is very strong. Demand exceeds supply right now, and we foresee that continuing in the future.”
Currently, Bland Farms is growing in Georgia and growing and shipping from Peru and Mexico. The sweet onion operation recently finished packing and shipping Peru onions and has transitioned into its Mexican sweet onion program as well. For those customers looking to the coveted Vidalia® sweet onion, Bland finished planting its crop in late December and expects it to be ready sometime in mid-to-late April.
As the cost of production and inflation continue to impact growers, Bland is keeping a sharp eye on the current state of affairs to best maneuver today’s challenges.
“Rising costs are one of the main influences in supply and demand. These include labor, plastic, and cardboard to name a few. A good example is pallets, which now cost us $15 per pallet whereas last year they cost $7 per pallet,” Troy reflects. “This is a cost that we do not pass on to our retailers. Freight costs across the board have also seen drastic increases over the last two years. And, we have seen a very limited pool of trucks available on a weekly basis. We are expecting this challenge to continue in the immediate future.”
As retailers plan the long game, Bland remains a supportive partner during the long haul. With Bland’s combined resources, the company will continue to have a year-round supply of sweet onions for customers. The team anticipates that its current program, Mexican sweet onions, will run through mid-April.
Bland is also supporting its partners on the packaging front with the ability to customize packaging to meet retailers’ needs.
“That said, we provide numerous options for our customers from consumer bags to bulk as well as high-graphic bins. We are also environmentally conscious and continue to provide options that are recyclable and use less plastic,” Troy adds.
As a supplier, Bland Farms is ready to collaborate with its retail customers to support them in overcoming the plethora of challenges today.
“Bland Farms remains a family-owned and operated farm. It is what we do. We have always been at the forefront of packing produce from our beginning over 70 years ago. We are continually making investments back into our business to ensure that our customer always has the highest quality products,” Troy expresses, sharing the recent investment that reveals such a commitment: a new state-of-the-art packing facility that was operational just in time for the 2021 Vidalia season.
This new facility is fully climate-controlled, allowing Bland to control the humidity, airflow, and temperature throughout every stage of the drying and packing process. Maintaining the cold chain throughout packing is essential and results in less damage, improved appearance, increased pack-out, and longer shelf-life, Troy concludes.
With the market keeping many produce categories on their toes and strategizing ahead, keep checking back with AndNowUKnow for the state of the industry, the dynamics at play, and more.
