Our favorite Onionista as well as National Onion Association Director of Public & Industry Relations Kim Reddin has done it again, “it” being a terrific new hashtag-enhanced promotion for spring/summer onions available from April through June.
Kim calls it #OnionsInTheRaw, and the three-month series of recipes and blogs kicked off in April with some mild and sweet dishes like Grilled Beef Gyros with Marinated Onions and Pesto Flatbread with Sweet Onions and Asparagus, with more ready to be posted for Cinco de Mayo celebrating and just good ol’ backyard BBQing.
You can go to https://www.onions-usa.org/onionista/ for the blog updates, and you can also follow the great #OnionsInTheRaw action on the NOA website along with Pinterest and Twitter social media platforms. Kim told us in addition to her own posts, featured recipes from “a dozen or so food bloggers” will be chosen for what she’s calling a “Recipe Round-Up” each month, with the NOA spotlighting a recipe that includes at least one whole onion.
“I can’t take 100 percent credit for the idea,” she told OnionBusiness.com recently. “I’m working with consultant Lori Rice, a photographer and recipe developer from Visalia, CA, who helps with the blog.”
Kim added that the posts will drive some consumer interaction, with a Twitter event in late May or early June. And it’s evident she’s having a great time with the promo.
“We hit on the hashtag for the series, using it to share recipes, the health benefits of raw onions, the great flavor and the great texture they add to meals. Personally, I don’t like hearing people say, ‘Hold the onions…’ when I’m out at a restaurant. And I also believe Mother Nature gives us what we need when we need it, like these sweet and mild onions in the spring and summer. Later on we have savory onions for dishes during cold weather, but right now we’re celebrating sweet and mild.”
And speaking of celebrating, May will have salsa recipes around the Cinco in addition to more recipes with a Greek flair. In June, she said, a pasta salad that doesn’t include mayo (safety first) and is good for toting to picnics will be among the shared dishes.
“There are so many different ways to use raw onions,” she said. “And it’s amazing how well they pair with fruits and vegetables in salsas. There are fruit salsas, and there’s one that calls for roasted red peppers. In May we’ll feature some bloggers and their salsas, some more traditional and some a little more daring with watermelon, mango and strawberries filling in for tomatoes.”
Kim said the key to the campaign is to keep it fresh, both with ingredients and with approach, and to make the dishes easy and convenient.
“When we’re focusing on recipes like these, we target a very broad audience of all age groups. And that’s what we’re going for. We want to reach the primary shopper in each category.”
Here’s a link to that fabulous Grilled Beef Gyro with Marinated Onions. As they say in Athens, “Kali orexi!” Bon appetite, y’all!
https://www.onions-usa.org/onionista/grilled-beef-gyros-with-marinated-onion/
