Sales Review: Onions and Garlic 2018-01-01 (2)

Onions made up three percent of total produce dollar sales, while garlic made up just 0.5 percent for the 52-week period ended Nov. 28. Nationally, onions posted average sales of $1,526, down 2.2 percent compared to the previous year. Garlic posted average sales of $261, up 6.9 percent. 

Onion and garlic sales peaked during the November and December holidays. The week prior to Thanksgiving (the week ended Nov. 28) posted the largest sales for both onions and garlic. Onions posted sales of $2,302 per store during this week, while garlic posted $407 per store during this week. The second-highest selling week for both onions and garlic was the week of Christmas (the week ended Dec. 27). Onions posted $1,887 while garlic posted $356 during this week. The lowest-selling week for garlic was the week ending June 27, at $227 per store. The lowest-selling week for onions was the week ending Dec. 6, at $1,354 per store. 

For onions, the East topped sales performance among the U.S. regions with an average of $1,748 per store per week, down 2.2 percent compared to the previous year. Garlic trends were similar as the East region was the top performer at $338 per store per week, up 6.1 percent compared to the previous year.  

The largest contributor to the onion category was dried onion, which accounted for 83.5 percent. Dried onions sold an average of $1,273 per store per week, down 3.8 percent compared to the previous year.