July 2009 Industry News

In the June edition of Shape magazine, Mushroom Council-funded research on the weight management benefits of swapping mushrooms for meat was highlighted in the article titled, “Lose the Last 10 Pounds!” This placement resulted in nearly 7 million impressions.

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

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

Current Charts	Apr-09	Apr-08	% change	YTD 09	YTD 08	% change
Total Shipments	59.82	63.13	-5.25	238.46	254.97	-6.47
Domestic Shipments	52.15	55.82	-6.58	209.61	225.59	-7.08
PA	31.29	32.19	-2.8	124.41	129.43	-3.88
CA	9.30	10.97	-15.19	37.97	42.86	-11.42
Rest of US	11.55	12.66	-8.73	47.23	53.23	-11.26
Imports	7.67	7.31	4.93	28.85	29.38	-1.79

COUNCIL UPDATE

Are you going Pink for National Breast Cancer Awareness month? We are partnering with City of Hope and providing them with $50,000 to help support continued research on mushrooms and their possible link to breast cancer. Please remember to have your label approved by sending it to Bree.Flammini@edelman.com.

Please remember that many resources such as newsletters, power period materials, brochures, etc. can be found on the Council website, www.mushroomcouncil.org, under the RESOURCE tab.

New Postings to the Council website:

MARKETING SUMMARY

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS/PLACEMENTS TO DATE: June impressions overview:

Program	June 2009 Impressions	% of June 2008 Impressions	Total Year Impressions to Date*	% of Annual Goal
Consumer/Nutrition	82,120,105*	279%	493,426,389	99%
Foodservice	823,672	53%	4,637,744	144%
Retail	120,311	38%	851,981	58%

*Note: this includes impressions from the mushroom ads running in Times Square from June 1-30. The numbers and percents provided in the above table are based off of this number. Estimated audience reach is 1.5 million per day.
**Note, total year impressions includes impression numbers from early July 2009.

In June, the Mushroom Council had an average of 56 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
June 7	16	55 percent	Proactive
June 14	10	77 percent	Proactive
June 21	4	33 percent	Proactive
June 30	6	60 percent	Proactive
Total	36	56 percent	Proactive

New Tools/Resources:

Despite today's economic conditions, consumer demand for fresh mushrooms remains strong. Latest sales figures and tips to market fresh mushrooms this summer by appealing to consumers' love of grilling and the backyard BBQ were featured in the second installment of the 2009 Retail Newsletter. To view this newsletter, click here. Additionally, the Council developed a press release highlighting the latest sales data to share with media and distributed it the week of July 6.

Recently, the Mushroom Council reported on the 2009 Technomic research study, “Assessment of Fresh Mushrooms in the Foodservice Channel.” This study is the latest foodservice awareness, attitudes and usage survey conducted since 2005 and provides key insights into the state of the foodservice industry today, as well as perceptions of fresh mushrooms. To view the full report and results, click here.

On June 29, the Council distributed its spring/summer nutrition newsletter , News About Mushrooms, to nearly 1,300 nutrition influencers. The newsletter reported on the Mushroom Council’s recent partnership with City of Hope, mushroom news from the April Experimental Biology Meeting and the link between mushrooms and immunity. In addition, it featured the “Grilled Philly Cheese Mushroom Sandwich” recipe, which is perfect for summer grilling events. To view the entire newsletter, click here.

In June, the Council developed a testimonial/sell sheet featuring The Cheesecake Factory’s Executive Chef Bob Okura. The document highlights a recent quote from Chef Okura discussing mushrooms as a “culinary gift,” offering versatility, “cravability,” and the ability to increase sales. The sheet also highlights the 34 mushroom menu items currently on The Cheesecake Factory menu, and highlights the three mushroom dishes on the new small plate value menu. To view the sell sheet, click here.

Mushrooms in the News:

In June, Produce for Better Health published four 2009 Mushroom Council recipes on their consumer Web site. The recipes include, Baked Mushroom Parmesan, Mushroom Chips and Dip, Portabella Eggs Benedict and the Grilled Philly Mushroom Cheese Sandwich. To view the recipes in Produce for Better Health’s recipe database, click here.

To date, Mushroom Council’s PP2 recipes Grilled Philly Cheese Mushroom Sandwich and Mushroom Chips and Dip garnered more than eight million impressions combined. The recipes have been featured in online and print publications, including the Tampa Tribune, Leader-Post and Produce for Better Health.

On June 3, the Council distributed a Father’s Day e-blast including PP2 grilling recipes to more than 500 print and online editors. The effort resulted in nearly 1.5 million impressions in online and print publications, including Tampa Tribune and Leader-Post.

The Des Moines Register featured an article about Top Chef Finalist Carla Hall and mushrooms on June 2. This placement was a result of the Council’s May editor meetings at Meredith Corporation and garnered nearly one million impressions. To view the full article, click here.

In the June issue of Woman’s World, mushrooms were featured in the article titled, “Filling up Faster with Mushrooms!” The article highlighted Dr. Cheskin’s research and noted swapping mushrooms for beef can save 400 calories. This placement resulted in more than 5.5 million impressions.

The Miami Herald highlighted mushrooms’ many health benefits in an article titled, “High Praise for Mushrooms” on June 30. The article noted mushrooms are a source for the antioxidant ergothioneine. To view the full article, click here.

Mushroom Council placements represented an average of 56 percent of total mushroom news, which is withinthe norm of 33 to 75 percent during a period of proactive outreach. To view all June placements, click here.

On the Retail Front:

Produce Merchandising featured portabella mushrooms as a popular grilling vegetable, with a mention of the Council’s grilling tip sheet and recipes for consumer use. To view the entire article, click here. This placement resulted in 35,778 impressions.

Mushroom Best Practices and IRI sales statistics were featured in the May/June issue of the Natural Food Network, showcasing mushrooms’ positive growth in sales despite the economy. To view the entire article, click here. This placement resulted in 45,453 impressions.

Despite today's economic conditions, consumer demand for fresh mushrooms remains strong. Latest sales figures and tips to market fresh mushrooms this summer by appealing to consumers' love of grilling and the backyard BBQ were featured in the second installment of the 2009 Retail Newsletter. To view this newsletter, click here. Additionally, the Council developed a press release highlighting the latest sales data to share with media and distributed it the week of July 6.

For a more detailed report click here to see the most recent Mushrooms Top Line report.

On the Foodservice Front:

In the month of June, media outreach efforts landed an article in Flavor and the Menu featuring the Moe’s Southwest Grill and Applebee’s promotions, and showcasing the Mushroom Council as a valuable partner in chain segment promotional campaigns. The Mushroom Council has reached nearly 144% of the annual impressions goal and as a result of June’s placements, mushrooms continued to be a part of soup, poultry and pasta stories.

On July 10, the Mushroom Council sponsored the session, “Celebrating a Vegetarian Future” at the National Association of Colleges & University Food Services (NACUFS) Annual Meeting in Milwaukee. Panelists included Dwight Collins, executive chef at the University of California, Santa Cruz; Ida Shen, executive chef at University of California, Berkley; Paul Komelasky, foodservice director at Northwestern University; and Carla Hall, Top Chef Season Five finalist. Overall, the session offered good exposure for mushrooms to foodservice directors at top colleges nationwide. More than 60 college foodservice representatives attended the session, exceeding the goal of 30 by 100%. Schools represented included Yale, Villanova, Rutgers, University of Texas-Austin and Texas A&M. Each panelist talked about mushrooms’ role in their vegan/vegetarian menus and each detailed specific mushroom menu items.

On June 2, the Mushroom Council convened a group of 33 distributors, media and representatives from independent, chain and university segments of the foodservice industry. Attendees included Pizza Hut, Sysco, Boston’s Pizza and Maggiano’s. The event was held at Abacus Restaurant in Dallas for a half-day summit, including a presentation, discussion and cooking demonstration by Chef Kent Rathbun featuring three mushroom dishes. The Council educated guests about mushroom nutrition, cooking techniques and promotional opportunities, distributed educational materials and facilitated a valuable networking opportunity for all guests.

The Mushroom Council partnered with the Center of Advancement for Foodservice Education (CAFE) during their annual Leadership Conference in Denver from June 11-13 in order to target culinary school educators. As part of the partnership, the Council sponsored a Master Class where Master Chef and Corporate Executive Chef Bill Franklin of Nestle taught a group of fellow chefs how to make two mushroom dishes. The Mushroom Council also presented a “Mushrooms 101” presentation, including nutrition information. All chefs who signed up for the class received the culinary DVD and mushroom trend, nutrition and culinary information.

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