Bland Farms talks sweet potatoes and a strong Vidalia onion crop
As usual, Bland Farms will have a strong presence at SEPC with its produce and snack items. The Glennville, GA-based company will occupy Booth No. 424 and its sales team is primed to discuss the latest developments.
“The Vidalia onion crop is looking to be one of the best one’s yet and one that our sales team is very excited to discuss with new and current customers,” said Troy Bland, chief operating officer of Bland Farms. “Additionally, Vidalia Brands — a division of Bland Farms — is unveiling two new product lines this year that will bring great promotional opportunities for retail buyers.”
There are numerous advantages to attending the conference, but most importantly for the company, it’s a great opportunity to showcase how Bland Farms stands out from the rest.
“The networking opportunities that SEPC creates allows us to have fun while also discussing Bland Farms’ attributes that make us proud,” Bland said. “For instance, our Gran Torino grading machine, our quality consistency, and the clean, all-natural products that Vidalia Brands is able to manufacture using Bland Farms produce. In fact, we believe that these are same reasons that the SEPC is a great event for the industry as well. SEPC allows all industry members to network, catch up with their buyers and/or suppliers and showcase new products, while also providing the opportunity to create new business relationships.”
Business around Bland Farms has been very steady as of late and has offered plenty of growth opportunities.
“For 2017 we only continue to see these growth opportunities, especially in the sweet potato sector — a market that we are very excited about,” Bland said.
“Sweet potatoes have been a bright spot for a couple of years now. As far as the sweet onion sector is concerned, our Peru onions are only becoming a stronger product as we are continuously noticing greater quality consistency across the board — a trend that is apparent in our sweet onions from Texas and Mexico as well.”
Bland Farms is also buzzing because of its ability to cross merchandise with Vidalia Brands products, bringing increased sales for the customers.
“Vidalia Brands continues to develop new products and is rolling out a new, all-natural, clean label dressing line that we are all excited about. It appeals to millennial and health conscious consumers,” Bland said. “Bland Farms is very much committed to pack-outs and steady, dependable quality. We are hoping to only further ensure our customers, and consumers, that Bland Farms harvests the highest quality produce from roots to retail.”
Of course, the company has a great investment in Vidalia onions and that crop is looking to be a very strong one in 2017.
“Weather conditions have been excellent and we are excited that we will not only be able to harvest the Vidalia onions when Mother Nature allows, but also maintain their quality within our controlled atmosphere rooms,” Bland said. “As for our sweet potato crops in 2017, we’re excited to put into practice everything we’ve learned thus far. As sweet potatoes are still a relatively new venture for Bland Farms, we are constantly trying to soak up as much information as possible to help insure the finest quality that we can.”
The company takes pride in its ability to cross merchandise Bland Farms produce with Vidalia Brands value-added products, including snack foods and condiments. It’s also continuously investing in its infrastructure in an effort to constantly perform as efficiently as possible, especially in the curing of sweet potatoes and sweet onions.
“We believe this is one of the most important investments, especially when discussing quality consistency, in order to supply the best products from roots to retail,” Bland said. “Bland Farms is constantly looking for new information and ways to maintain our efficiency. We don’t ever want to believe that there’s nothing left to learn, or that there isn’t a way to enhance our productivity. We enjoy the opportunity to grow and challenge ourselves every single day.”