Shuman Farms' John Shuman Discusses Southern Innovations 2025 Showcase

REIDSVILLE, GA - At the Southeast Produce Council’s (SEPC) upcoming Southern Innovations show, Shuman Farms will spotlight its premium sweet onions from Peru in a tailgating-themed booth designed to help retailers plan high-impact fall promotions. Here to discuss is John Shuman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“We will be at booth #300 and we’re bringing a full tailgating experience: game-day recipe inspiration featuring our premium sweet onions from Peru. We’ll also introduce our 2025 NIL athletes—University of Georgia linebacker CJ Allen and Georgia Southern University wide receiver Josh Dallas—and share how these partnerships translate into authentic, family-friendly content that reaches the next generation of shoppers,” John told me.

Shuman Farms’ goals for the show are to align fourth-quarter programs, share shopper insights from Gen Z and young families, and co-create turnkey game-day merchandising that drives department and total-store sales. The grower’s sales, marketing, and operations teams will all be in attendance, plus team members from Healthy Family Project discussing their holiday Carry the Cause initiative.

John explained that Shuman will start shipping its premium sweet onions from Peru in the next few weeks and will continue through February. The supplier is seeing normal production with good quality, as well as a good supply of organics with no expected gaps.

“Our Peruvian sweet onion program delivers the mild, sweet flavor shoppers love, keeping premium sweet onions on shelves year-round and maintaining category momentum outside the Vidalia® window,” John noted. “Our program supports Southeast U.S. economic activity via the Port of Savannah, reinforcing reliable supply and regional jobs while meeting year-round shopper demand.”

Shuman Farms’ Peruvian sweet onions are available in 2, 3, and 5 lb consumer bags as well as bulk. Seasonally, the grower also offers its Pink Sweet Onion bag in October for Breast Cancer Awareness, and Feeding America bags in November and December to raise awareness about hunger. For merchandising, Shuman provides both full-sized primary display bins and secondary display bins to make in-store execution simple and effective.

“Sweet onions, and produce overall, support flavor-first, better-for-you cooking—a natural fit for Food as Medicine strategies. The versatility and mild sweetness of premium Peruvian sweets make it easy for families to add more produce across everyday meals and game-day spreads,” John concluded.

For more on this year’s Southern Innovations showcases, keep clicking back to ANUK.