People buy daily necessities at a supermarket in London, Britain on March 15, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

It took over 35 years of breeding to develop a new branded variety of onion; the first sweet, tearless onions to go on sale.

Unique "tearless" onions, already available in the United States, are finally set to be sold in the UK, according to the Independent.

"Many people have tried to understand how to stop crying when cutting onions: by freezing the onion, soaking it in water, cutting in a certain way, using a spoon - the list is endless, but unfortunately, they still make you cry. All that has now changed, thanks to BASF developing Sunions," Nasir Ahmed, UK consumer and customer manager of BASF's vegetable seeds division, said as quoted by the Fresh Produce Journal.

In the UK, Waitrose is set to begin selling the new variety from 18 January for a limited period of time.

"Perfect for those with sensitive eyes as well as cooking in the kitchen with children," Waitrose said.

This onion will be more expensive than the usual one, 50p per onion instead of 14p for a typical onion, according to Sky News.

Sunions were reportedly first developed by agricultural giant Bayer; the project was later taken over by chemicals firm BASF. Sunions are said to have been created through the cross-breeding of less pungent strains of onion over the course of decades.