When U.K. consumers think about onions, either a brown or red variety sold loose or in nondescript netted bags springs to mind. But Pacific Produce managing director Rob Cullum wants to change that perception and is kick starting trials of sweet onions for the British market, introducing a premium bulb which has been enjoying huge success in the U.S.

"We've taken a punt on bringing some product over to the U.K. as a test. The Mayan Sweets are a long established product in the U.S. but they are new for Britain where people will not be used to seeing them," Cullum said.

"Based on the back of the success in the U.S. we thought to give them a whirl and see what came out.

"The onions are not sweet as in sugary; less pungent is probably the best way to describe them. In the U.S. they are referred to as sweet onions and anyone in America will be familiar with them. They are approaching a 50% market share in the U.S. in terms of onion purchases and American consumers have moved from brown onions towards this onion."

Mayan Sweets are grown in the farmlands of Peru and a small volume will be diverted to the U.K. over the coming weeks to test the wholesale market.

"The reality is Mayan Sweet onions make you cry less, taste better and are easy to cook with. In the U.S. they really took off in burger bars because you don't have to sweat them down as much as brown onions which would otherwise be overpowering. I want to know what U.K. chefs think about them and I'll be looking to get as much feedback from the wholesale market as possible before we move forward with importing larger volumes.

"The challenge in the U.K. with our mode of discount stores is that these onions cost more because they're fresh and grow much larger. They have looser skin so you can't store them for long periods of time.

"They are a premium onion and at this point in time, consumers in the West, and particularly in the U.K. are quite used to paying premium prices for certain high quality fresh produce. Will people like them? We'll have to test the market and find out."

Cullum explains that although all of the supermarkets stock premium ranges of produce alongside the standard and budget lines, the question is: are people ready to pay premium for onions?

"For instance, there is a huge selection of lines in the tomato section in the U.K. and consumers know the difference between the varieties and are fine with paying more for a premium product. They are educated on that and know what tastes the best.

"Part of this trial is to explain that Mayan Sweets are so great for cooking and though they cost more, you get a much better quality and tastier onion for your money.

"Part of the job will be to convince people to try them."

Branding and marketing will help to change perceptions 

Mayan Sweets are not a main product for Pacific Produce which supplies citrus, grape and avocado sourced from Peruvian parent company La Calera and cultivated in South America. Cullum hopes other well established brands will convince the wholesale market and larger retailers to at least experiment with his premium-priced onion.

"If this was our core product we'd be trying to work out some kind of larger scale promotional campaign, but because we sell so much in the U.S., we are taking the weeks we've got peak production and diverting one container out of 50 across to the U.K. where we can play with it.

"We have good brands on our other products so the wholesale market knows us well. But with onions, most of them are sold in nets, so there is no branding as such and no premium; it's just a bulk standard product on the side that everyone has to have and they are cheap.

"Therefore, this is a new concept. We are introducing nice branded boxes, the same as we use in the U.S. and they look amazing. We are under no illusion though. This could be a complete failure and we might be dressing up what is a very good product because because people don't know it, they might think it's just a box of onions and nothing special, but we need to take a hit on our pocket to get it out there and see if the U.K. is ready."