March 2009 Industry News

Mushrooms were featured on FOX’s national morning show, “Mike & Juliet” in a “Foods that Improve Your Mood” segment on February 25, which can be viewed here. The Council’s PP1 spokesperson, Cynthia Sass, MS, RD, highlighted mushrooms’ natural selenium and vitamin D properties, which help boost your mood. The segment reached more than 1 million viewers across the U.S. and more than 100,000 people nationally via the clip on the Web site.

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

Mushroom Council First Handler Reports (millions of pounds; totals may not match due to rounding).
Current Charts

	Dec-08	Dec-07	% change	YTD 08	YTD 07	% change
Total Shipments	64.46	69.73	-7.55	738.85	752.09	-1.76
Domestic Shipments	56.73	61.47	-7.70	655.66	670.48	-2.21
PA	32.79	34.78	-5.71	381.34	386.59	-1.36
CA	10.31	11.59	-11.02	121.70	120.11	1.32
Rest of US	13.63	15.10	-9.73	152.62	163.79	-6.82
Imports	7.73	8.26	-6.49	83.18	81.60	1.94

COUNCIL UPDATE

A new Handler Report has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and is now in effect. The only change is a new column “Total Dollar Value of LBS Marketed”. The collection of this information will help the Council to better evaluate its efforts and will be reported much in the same way that we currently report the pounds (see shipment chart above). As with the pound information you have provided in the past, this information is to be held in strict confidence as per Sec. 1925 in the Act.

MARKETING SUMMARY

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS/PLACEMENTS TO DATE:

Program	February 2009 Impressions	Total Year Impressions to Date	% of Annual Goal	% of Last Year Same Time Period
Consumer/Nutrition	71,447,151	197,447,151	40%	116%
Foodservice	228,300	439,250	14%	59%
Retail	0**	249,688	16%	0%

February impressions overview:
*Note, total year impressions includes impression numbers from early March 2009
**Note, there is a delay in receiving retail clips; for example, after the January report was published we received an additional 191,790 impressions

In February, the Mushroom Council had an average of 71 percent share of voice. While conducting proactive media outreach, we generally expect Mushroom Council coverage to represent between 33-75 percent of mushroom placements, according to average consumer product and commodity industry standards. Note that there are always external factors or industry forces that could change that metric.

Mushroom Share of Voice:

Week Ending	Mushroom Council Generated Placements	% of Total Mushroom Coverage	Type of Outreach
February 7	26	65 percent	Proactive
February 14	10	77 percent	Proactive
February 21	11	85 percent	Proactive
February 28	8	67 percent	Proactive
Total	55	71 percent	Proactive

Mushrooms in the News:

As reported last month, on February 5 mushrooms were featured on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Ellen mentioned mushrooms as a superfood, rich in vitamin D, delicious, nutritious and inexpensive. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is one of the highest-rated daytime talk shows with an estimated audience of 5 million Americans, which includes online viewers.
On March 5, Dr. Keith Martin’s mushroom immunity research was featured in a syndicated Reuters article online. The article notes white button mushrooms have stronger immune-boosting effects than most exotic mushrooms. This placement generated more than 6.5 million impressions. To view the full article click here.
The Council met with First for Women in April to share mushroom news and research. As a result, the March issue of First for Women highlighted Mushroom Council-funded research on the weight management benefits of swapping mushrooms for meat. This placement garnered in more than 5.5 million impressions.
In a USA Today health blog, written by a former Mushroom Council spokesperson, mushrooms were included on a vitamin D list. Mushrooms were suggested as a food with vitamin D that fits into any diet plan. This placement garnered nearly 5.5 million impressions. To view the full article click here.

In the February issue of Men’s Fitness, mushrooms are mentioned as a food that’s “magic for your health.” The article highlights mushrooms’ antioxidant, vitamin D and satiety properties. To view the full article click here. This placement resulted in nearly 3 million impressions.

Mushroom Council PP1 recipes Baked Mushroom Parmesan and Mushroom and Smoked Salmon Frittata have garnered more than 27 million impressions each, making them the second and third most popular recipes to date, following 2008’s Mini Mushroom Burgers.

The News Tribune featured an article titled, “Fabulous Fungi” and discussed the importance of vitamin D during the winter months. Several key messages were mentioned, including mushrooms’ vitamin D content, mushrooms’ health attributes as well as their overall value. Both PP1 recipes, the Mushroom and Smoked Salmon Frittata and the Baked Mushroom Parmesan, were featured with great images. To view the full article click here.

Mushrooms’ vitamin D properties were highlighted in 25 placements, including USA Today, Men’s Fitness, Hungry Girl and FOX’s “Mike and Juliet Morning Show.” To date, in 2009, vitamin D placements have resulted in nearly 75 million impressions.

Mushroom Council-funded research on the weight management of swapping mushrooms for meat was highlighted in six print and broadcast placements, accounting for more than 4 million impressions. Publications include Men’s Fitness and Sirius Satellite radio’s show “What’s Cookin’.”

Mushrooms’ health attributes were highlighted in 17 placements, generating nearly 54 million impressions in publications such as the Woman’s World, Best Life, and MSNBC online.

Mushroom Council placements represented an average of 71 percent of total mushroom news, which is withinthe norm of 33 to 75 percent during a period of proactive outreach. To view all February placements click here.

On the Foodservice Front:

The Mushroom Council exhibited the inflatable “MushRoom” at The Pizza Expo in Las Vegas March 10-12. To increase the Council’s presence this year, additional sponsorships were secured for the Preferred Topping Product Sponsorship at the Culinary Contests as well as the Blind Box Competition for finalists competing for Pizzaiola of the Year: These forums will add an extra avenue to reach the 10,000 international attendees, provide messaging focused on the value of fresh mushrooms, and ensure that more mushrooms are used in sessions and contests during the Expo: In addition, the Council will provide product to fellow exhibitors for use in their daily pizza samples, to further extend mushrooms’ presence on the show floor.

The Council recently published the first quarterly 2009 Foodservice Newsletter, which debuted at the Pizza Expo. Following the Expo, the newsletter will be distributed to the approximately 750 foodservice professionals on the Council’s email list. The newsletter features information on how mushrooms can be part of the current pizza trends stemming from the economy, both flavor- and marketing-related, and be a part of the solution for pizza operators. To view and download a copy of the newsletter, click here.

For an update on the status of the Council’s foodservice promotional pursuits, click here; to see new mushroom menu items for February click here.

On the Retail Front:

Mushrooms were the only vegetable to see growth during the recession and were ranked as consumers’ third favorite vegetable in 2008.

The Council distributed the 2008 year end press release highlighting mushrooms’ positive growth of 4.3 percent to media and the industry. Coverage will appear in upcoming issues of Produce Business, Food Processing and The Packer. To view the full year end announcement click here.

The Retail Best Practices study, which found that retailers can see a significant lift in sales of at least 6.1 percent at an individual store, or an additional $44 million in U.S. retail sales industry-wide, will soon be available to industry along with the PP1 retail newsletter to serve as an additional resource to engage retailers.

For a more comprehensive retail report click here.