Monthly Shipping and Marketing Report | July 2020

Council Update

Open Positions on the Council (2021-2023 term):
Ballots have been tabulated and background forms are being sent to those nominees that qualified to have their names sent to the Secretary of Agriculture for possible appointment to the Council.

Region 1 (All states except CA & PA) – one open position
Region 2 (PA) – one open position
Region 4 (Importers) – one open position

Mushroom growers have ideas, skills, experiences and perspectives that would benefit the industry; be a voice for your industry by becoming part of the Council.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Mushroom Council encourages all eligible producers, including women, minorities and individuals with disabilities to participate and seek nomination.

Council Meeting:

The next Council meeting will take place on September 10-11, 2020. The location has not yet been determined as we wait to see the guidelines for travel and social gatherings. The meeting will be either in Kennett Square or held via the Zoom platform. If you would like to attend, please reach out to [email protected].

Stay Up-To-Date with Industry News

As part of our mandate to provide the industry with the most up to date information Bart Minor, Mushroom Council President, will be providing timely updates on events and news as it affects the mushroom industry. View past newsletters here.

If you would like to receive this newsletter, please subscribe via this link: http://eepurl.com/gWWjHj

Shipment Summary

To see current charts, click here.

The Month Ahead

DIGITAL

The top three winners of the Blended Burger Home Edition competition will be chosen and notified.
With Mushroom Month only two months away, planning for activations will begin in July.

Highlights from June

DIGITAL

The Blended Burger Project Home Edition competition with Bon Appetit will wrap up at the end of the month. As of June 25, we have received 230 total entries. In addition to the online entry form, contestants could share photos of their blended burger on Instagram to receive a custom apron. For example: @caitstraightupcooking, @seattlebutcherswife, and @theglutenfreegathering.
The produce sales IRI Data findings were shared on trade publications, including the impressive growth in mushroom sales in recent months. Coverage includes The Packer, Southeast Produce Weekly, and Produce Blue Book.
On June 18, the Council worked with Dr. Mark Lang to conduct a webinar for the Retail Dietitians Business Alliance. The webinar, titled “Consumer Insights: New Research Explaining Consumer Behavior Behind Food Trends,” can be viewed here.
The Q2 Nutrition Newsletter was distributed June 16 featuring new research from China on pregnancy-induced hypertension and gestational diabetes and an update Mushroom Council-funded research presented at Nutrition 2020. Click here to view.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Council is sponsoring the 3^rd Annual Culinary Nutrition Conference on July 18. Originally an in-person event, this online event will include two mushroom activations:
- “Let’s Get Wild! Game Meat 101” with Chef Ben Del Coro highlighting The Blend.
- “The 5^th Taste: Using Umami to Boost Flavor in Plant-Based Recipes” in partnership with the Institute of Culinary Education.

Digital Metrics

Mushroom Channel

Blenditarian

Hashtags

Special Campaigns

Monthly Topline Report

Tracker Highlights – Period ending 04/19/2020

Spotlight – Notable and Newsworthy

In the 4-weeks – Fresh mushroom sales soar amid pandemic
In the 52-weeks – Significant increase in 4-week sales help drive higher dollar sales for 52-week period

Many fresh produce categories are seeing significant growth amid the crisis, including fresh mushrooms. Category dollars increased +22.2% in the current 4-week period, +12 points ahead of Total Produce.
This dollar growth was driven by an increase in volume (+17.9%) and average price/lb. (+3.7%)
All regions across the U.S. showed double-digit increases in dollar sales, led by California (+31.4%)
Nearly all markets also showed double-digit dollar growth, led by Los Angeles at +39.2%
Conventional and Organic mushroom sales increased this period. Conventional dollar sales increased +20.3% (+$18.0M) and contributed 80% of dollar growth, while Organic dollar sales increased +36.0% (+$4.5M)

*IRI/FreshLook Data provided by Fusion Marketing

Click Here for the Full Topline Report