Monthly Shipping Report | March 2011

COUNCIL UPDATE

• Regional meetings are being held in the coming weeks. Take the opportunity to discuss the industry marketing effort with your appointed representative BEFORE the planning process begins this June.  Please let the Council know if you will be attending so we can make sure there is room for you.  Please note:  regardless of where you may live or what “region” you are in you may attend any or all of the following:

  Regions 1 & 4 will meet via Webinar – April 13th 11amPST/12pmMST/1pmCST/2pmEST

  Region 2 will be held on Wednesday, April 13th at the Hilton Garden Inn in

  Kennett Square, PA from 11:30am-2pm

  Region 3 was held on March 15th in CA

• Regions 1, 2 & 4 each have a position opening up on the Council with 3 year terms beginning January 1, 2012. Request for nominations were mailed on Feb 1 to all producers who produce on average 500,000 pounds per year and are not exempt and to those importers who import on average 500,000 pounds per year for fresh use. Please be sure to nominate someone in your region. Nominations are due to the Council office by May 2nd.
  • Please note: USDA encourages all eligible producers including women, minorities and individuals with disabilities to participate in the nominations and seek nomination to serve on the Council.

• The Council will hold its next meeting of the Council on June 7-8, 2011 in Chicago. If you plan on attending this meeting, please let Cheryl know so we can accommodate you.

MARKETING SUMMARY

      Coverage tracking methods regarding impressions and metrics are under continuous review to

ensure accuracy and industry best practices.

Mushroom Sales Update

Mushrooms and Nutrition - in the News and Online:  

• Martha Stewart highlights the benefits of mushrooms in a “TODAY Show” power food cooking segment (2/23). The segment kicks off with the hosts’ question, what is a powerfood? Stewart’s response launches right into her portabella burger recipe, “Foods that are commonly available, everywhere, like wonderful portabella mushrooms…” Stewart showcases mushrooms as a lower-calorie, meaty option for healthy cooking.

• The March issue of Women’s Health offers a full-page spread on vitamin D, entitled “The Ultimate D-fense.” Dr. Holick is quoted extensively, and generated a mushroom mention in the portion addressing how consumers can get more vitamin D (Holick recommends sun, supplements, mushrooms and salmon).

• Men’s Fitness (March issue) lists mushrooms (#15) in its roundup of “50 Tasty Foods Under 50 Calories” which recommended low calorie foods to turn to when hungry.

• To kick off National Nutrition Month (March), the Council launched an audio news release with nutrition expert and author Cynthia Sass. The 60-second radio clip celebrating the nutritional benefits and versatility of fresh mushrooms aired on more than 900 radio stations, nationwide, from February 28 thru March 4. The clip and media results for the segment will be available in next month’s shipment report.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) selected “Eat Right with Color” as the theme for National Nutrition Month 2011, encouraging fruit and vegetable consumption that encompasses all colors. The recommendation includes white, and specifically calls out mushrooms on the ADA color wheel. Self magazine picked up the news and ran two additional mushroom articles celebrating mushrooms’ antioxidants, vitamin D content, and versatility; along with the potential to maintain a healthy immune system.

• The Council distributed an e-blast highlighting pub-inspired Council recipes for St. Patrick’s Day to more than 800 short-lead contacts on March 1; resulting coverage has appeared in the Cape Cod Timesand Bismarck Tribune, and the Council has provided follow-up photos and information for editors from the Jonesboro Sun, Detroit News, Star Ledger and Canton Repository, to date.

• The third-annual “Every Day, Every Way” mushroom recipe contest with Taste of Home, a top food magazine and website based on reader-submitted recipes, kicked off on March 1. The contest encourages consumers to cook with mushrooms in new ways, inviting them to submit creative recipes in breakfast, appetizer and main dish categories for a chance to win. The entrant with the best recipe in each category will receive a vacation for two to attend cooking sessions with the Culinary Institute of America. In addition, each week one entrant will be randomly selected to win a Weber grill; the perfect accompaniment to summer grilling recipes and an incentive to help build sales momentum throughout the summer. The contest will be promoted through traditional print ads in the June/July issue of Taste of Home and Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazines, and banner advertisements on TasteofHome.com and AllRecipes.com for the duration of the contest. The contest runs through August 1 at www.tasteofhome.com/mushroomcontest.

• In addition to the recipe contest, Taste of Home will showcase mushrooms at 140 nationwide Cooking School events that attract thousands of cooking enthusiasts. Culinary specialists at each event perform live cooking demonstrations and they’ve selected the Council’s Cheesy Mushroom Dip as one of their featured recipes. Attendees will have the opportunity to watch experts prepare the dish and pick up new cooking techniques while they learn about the many health benefits of nature’s hidden treasure. For those who won’t have the chance to taste the recipe firsthand, 10 Council recipes are available in the Cooking School edition of Taste of Home magazine. To spread the word further, press releases and radio advertisements touting the benefits of mushrooms will run in the areas hosting Cooking School events. The Council is a national sponsor, but you can sponsor locally! The opportunities vary from show to show, but may include the option to set up a booth on site as well as participate in additional local media exposure. If you are interested in participating as a local sponsor, please reach out directly to the contact listed in the current event schedule. All industry members are invited to attend a Cooking School and see the Council’s sponsorship in action. Reference the current schedule to find out if there is a cooking school event near you and contact the Council at (408) 432-7210 or Cheryl@mushroomcouncil.org to secure tickets for you and a guest to attend.

Mushrooms Council: Online Metrics for February 2011

   *According to Nielsen data, the overall average of time spent on websites is 56 seconds.

On the Retail and Foodservice Front: 

• The Council has developed three traditional point-of-sale (POS) materials to amplify the Taste of Home contest at retail and help increase sales. A shelf-dangler and floor mat highlight the grand prize vacation package and are important to draw consumer attention to the mushroom display. The on-pack label attempts to drive frequent purchases by highlighting the weekly Weber grill giveaway – reminding consumers that they can enter multiple recipes throughout the 22 weeks. Industry members should encourage their retail customers to use the Council’s point-of-sale (POS) materials to support summer promotions. The Council will facilitate an order of the shelf-danglers (Dimensions: 9” x 5”) and floor mats (Dimensions: 24” x 16”) through its preferred vendor at a rate of $5.33 per dangler, and $17.65 per floor mat plus shipping costs. To order the retail POS materials, contact the Council at (408) 432-7210 or info@mushroomcouncil.org; the deadline to join the group order is March 31, 2011. After March 31, industry members will need to coordinate their own orders.

• At the end of March, the Council will attend and sponsor the Supermarket RD Leadership Symposium (March 30 – April 2) in Santa Rosa, CA. This experiential event gives supermarket RDs and industry representatives a chance to build synergies for effective retail-based nutrition and health promotions. The Council’s objectives will be to (1) Learn how we can assist and aid supermarket RDs in their efforts to communicate about healthy eating, including mushrooms, and (2) Share best practices and examples that have worked, as well as gain insight about future mushroom promotions. Full participation details and results will be included in next month’s report.

• Last year, the Mushroom Council hosted a Foodservice Sales Training in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). A video including three of the presentations by the CIA instructor are available at no charge to those who attended. A shipping/reimbursement charge will be required for any industry members that would like the videos but did not attend in-person. The following presentations from CIA Chef Mark Ainsworth are included:
  • Umami Makes It uuu So Good: Mushrooms Have What Operators Want
  • Every Day, Every Way: Mushroom Cooking Methods
  • The Top 5 Objections from the Kitchen

Order copies of the video by contacting the Council at (408) 432-7210 or

        Cheryl@mushroomcouncil.org.

• In February, the Council finalized the Health and Wellness Sales Kit that includes a retail sell sheet and foodservice sell sheets on sodium and mushrooms’ health benefits, as well as a presentation for use with foodservice customers. Contents of the sales kit were reviewed during the industry sales training on February 22. To access sales kit materials and a recording of the Health and Wellness industry webinar, click here.

• A recording of the industry-wide C&U training webinar is now available online and includes a NEW question and answer period with Martin Breslin, Director for Culinary Operations at Harvard. Watch this webinar to familiarize yourself with the importance of the C&U market segment and the available tools to help you. Print the materials and begin setting up meetings with your contacts today!

• The Council’s foodservice brochure is now available to view online. You will need to contact the Council to order copies. Use this brochure with your foodservice customers to outline the versatility of mushrooms and how they can “Get it All with Mushrooms.” Note: This will also serve as the advertorial insert that will be included in issues of Food Management and FoodService Director throughout the year, launching in April. If you have any questions or would like to order copies of the versatility brochure, contact the Council at (408) 432-7210 or Cheryl@mushroomcouncil.org.

• Throughout the year, the Council will provide tip sheets to promote mushrooms around busy foodservice holidays. The new Spring Brunch tip sheet includes details on mushrooms’ nutritional benefits and appropriate mushroom recipes to help chefs plan their menus for Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day. Print and share this tip sheet with your commercial customers so they can learn new ways to add mushrooms to their menus.

• Trade media relations resulted in a total of seven articles and 357,322 impressions for the month of February. This included Chef Peter Leonavicius’ Paris Pizza topped with portabellas, which was featured in Chef ‘s “Snack Attack!” Mushrooms were also featured as the hidden treasure to healthy Latin meals in the Gold Medal Classroom’s “Champiñones and Healthy Eating,” – an article that included six of the Council’s Latin recipes. Additionally, The Packer’s “Mushroom campaign benefits cancer research” article covered the pink promotion, highlighting the Council’s efforts to support breast cancer research at City of Hope.

• To see February Mushroom Chain items, click here.

• The Council pursues editorial opportunities on an ongoing basis to promote mushrooms with various trade publications. Please share any news or information from your region for the following upcoming opportunities:
  • Food Industry Advisor – Produce Focus; Deadline is April 1
  • Progressive Grocer – Supply Chain Management; Deadline is April 21
  • Food Logistics – Perishable Logistics: Trends in temperature control from farm to fork; Deadline is April 22

For larger image, click here.

Reminder – Industry tools available:

• The foodservice section of MushroomCouncil.org has been updated to include new sales materials. Use these materials with your foodservice customers to demonstrate the importance of mushrooms on the menu.

• College Sales Kit
  • College Presentation: Helps support your sales effort with the college and university segment. You can use the presentation in its current form or pull out slides as you develop your own
  • College Sell Sheet: Details the value of mushrooms in college cuisine and reasons why mushrooms will continue to grow in popularity with college students
  • College Demo Sheet: Provides all the information needed to work with your customers to conduct on-campus demonstrations
  • College Promotions: Outlines creative and effective ideas for a college dining promotion
  • Cost/Nutritional Comparisons: Shows the value of adding or substituting mushrooms for more expensive proteins in common college dishes

  • College Recipes from MushroomInfo.com

• Latin Sales Kit
  • Latin Sell Sheet: Details the importance of mushrooms in Mexican heritage and why they remain just as prevalent in Latin cuisine today
  • Cost/Nutritional Comparisons: Shows the value of adding or substituting mushrooms for other proteins in Latin dishes
  • Additional Latin Recipes from MushroomInfo.com

• Asian Sales Kit
  • Asian Sell Sheet: Showcases how mushrooms are an icon of Asian cuisine
  • Cost/Nutritional Comparisons: Shows the value of adding or substituting mushrooms for other proteins in common Asian dishes
  • Asian Recipes from Worlds of Flavor
  • Additional Asian Recipes from MushroomInfo.com

• The PP4 retail newsletter offers retailers a number of reasons to leverage mushroom sales as they currently lead the produce pack. Print and share the newsletter with your customers so they can learn more about how these initiatives can help drive fresh mushroom sales.

• The winter nutrition newsletter highlights findings from the Institute of Medicine report on vitamin D and calcium; details the Council’s collaboration with food bloggers; and offers a brief overview of the sodium environment. Print and share the newsletter with your customers so they can learn more about how mushrooms’ role in the nutrition landscape can help drive sales.

• The consumer brochure, “Make Room for Mushrooms,” is a new tool for your retail customers to use in point-of-sale displays. The brochure provides a comprehensive mushroom summary, arming consumers with everything they need to know, including: cleaning/storing tips, health benefits, cooking techniques, meal ideas and information on varieties. Contact the Council at (408) 432-7210 or Cheryl@mushroomcouncil.org to order copies to share with consumers, distribute to retailers and display at events. 

• Order forms for materials that can be ordered from the Council can be found on our website.