Glenn Wickman
A BRAND of onions grown in a Valencian town has become famous after appearing in British Netflix hit series Skins.
The programme is a teen comedy/drama chronicling the trials and tribulations of groups of teenagers in Bristol, with the lead actors and actresses changing every two seasons and screened originally on E4 from 2007 to 2013.
After winning several awards including three BAFTAs, the original creation by Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain landed on online subscription channel Netflix to great critical acclaim, with leading Spanish media analysts labelling Skins ‘the best teen series ever’.
And in the same way that Oscar-winning Korean film Parasite featured a particular brand of crisps from Galicia (northern Spain), boosting sales by 140%, the British series shines the spotlight on a sack of onions from La Pobla de Vallbona (Camp de Turia, Valencia Province).
Eagle-eyed viewers can spot the name in the third episode of season seven, when protagonist Cassie Ainsworth is seen dragging the sack into the kitchen of the London restaurant where she works.
As she pulls the onions towards a table, the characteristic red label can be seen identifying the vegetables as being grown in the Valencian town.
This tweet shows the exact scene:
This particular product has been La Pobla’s chief farming activity since the 19th century, leading it to become known as ‘El poble de la ceba’ (‘Onion town’ in the Valencian language) with over a dozen companies exporting the vegetable throughout Spain and internationally.Growers and exporters hope that the shot, albeit brief, will have a similar impact among the many fans of Skins all over the world as the success of the Galician crisps in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 masterpiece.
