Peri & Sons Sees Steady Organic Onion Demand, Continues to Pursue Sustainable Packaging

A longtime family-owned grower-shipper of both conventional and organic onions, Peri & Sons Farms, based in Yerington, Nevada, has been experiencing consistent demand for its organic program. 

“Our organic sales have remained pretty steady at about 10 percent of total volume shipped for the last three years,” said Peri’s Director of Marketing & Customer Relations Teri Gibson. “We expect that to continue into 2024.”  

Teri Gibson, Director of Marketing and Customer Relations, Peri & Sons

Gibson noted that while organic onion demand appears to be steady, it’s still “far lower” than conventional onion demand. “Due to the extra cost, consumers tend to pick and choose what produce items are a must-have organic versus items that are not a high priority,” she said. “Because onions shed their outer layers, they are much less likely to have any pesticide residue even when grown conventionally. All our conventionally grown onions are Certified Pesticide Residue Free.” 

"Our organic sales have remained pretty steady at about 10 percent of total volume shipped for the last three years. We expect that to continue into 2024.” - Teri Gibson

Peri & Sons offers white, yellow, red, and sweet onions as well as Sunions and Sweetie Sweets, and in 2021, the company added cipollini onions, shallots, and garlic to the mix. All items are available as both conventional and organic. 

“Peri & Sons is the only grower of Sweetie Sweet onions, a true sweet onion, grown with love in the USA that’s available between August and December,” said Gibson of the company’s proprietary variety. “We’re also a select grower of Sunions, a new tearless sweet onion available from December through March.” 

Located in Yerington, Nevada, Peri’s flagship family farm grows all the company’s onion varieties (plus shallots) both conventionally and organically. Over the years, Peri has expanded its operations into California’s Imperial and Central Valleys—where it grows red, white, yellow, and sweet onions—in order to offer year-round availability to its customers. 

Peri & Sons Earthbag

Gibson said Peri & Sons began its organic program 18 years ago in response to customer demand. “We started growing organic onions in 2006 because more and more of our customers were asking for them,” she said. “We enthusiastically jumped into learning all we could about everything involved in growing organic produce from seeds to land management and everything in between. Our goal was to produce a premium-quality product that would measure up to the USDA Certified Organic standard—and that’s what we did.”  

“Peri & Sons is the only grower of Sweetie Sweet onions, a true sweet onion, grown with love in the USA that’s available between August and December.” - Teri Gibson

In recent years, an important area of focus for Peri & Sons has been sustainable packaging, which Gibson noted can be challenging.  

“Consumers want sustainable packaging. Retailers want sustainable packaging. Produce growers and packers like us, Peri & Sons Farms, would like nothing more than to give consumers and retailers what they want,” she said. “But right now, at this stage of the game, it’s proving very difficult due to limited availability and added cost.”  

She said the company has had success with an all-paper, eco-friendly option called Earthbag, which it debuted in 2021. “It’s 100 percent plastic-free, biodegradable/compostable,” she said. “This product is being well received, and we hope that retailers will continue to see the value of paying a little more for this option.” 

Gibson said the company also offers biodegradable and recyclable clamshells for its organic shallots and organic cipollinis. “It’s a small-scale program, but organic specialty products like these have a better chance of recouping the added cost at retail,” she noted. 

Despite the challenges, Gibson said Peri & Sons’ packaging team is continuing to explore further sustainable packaging solutions. 

“For us, any new options must: work with the packaging equipment we’re already invested in; keep the product fresh; be strong enough to withstand packing, shipping, and merchandising; provide food safety; be visually appealing; be either plastic free, single-stream recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable; and it must be affordable,” she said. “Presently, affordability is the primary challenge, followed by availability of materials.”  

“[The Earthbag] is being well received, and we hope that retailers will continue to see the value of paying a little more for this option.” - Teri Gibson

Founded by third-generation grower David Peri, Peri & Sons has been a family owned and operated company since its inception in 1979. “We are truly hands-on,” said Gibson of the benefits of the company’s family ownership. “We are in the dirt, grinding it out every day. We have the ability to pivot quickly and stay closely connected to all aspects of our operation. … We don’t answer to anyone; we stand behind our products and service, which is why we have extremely loyal customers. We deliver consistent quality day in and day out; if we are having problems, our customer rarely feels the same pain we are going through.”