Monthly Shipping and Marketing Report | April 2021

Council Update

Next Council Meeting:
Scheduled as a Zoom meeting on June 17-18, 2021

Mushroom Council Announces Newly Elected Officers

At the February 18 Council virtual meeting, the Mushroom Council® elected new officers for 2021.

Chairperson: Sonya Beltran, director of operations, Masda Mushrooms/First Generation Farms, Toughkenamon, Pa.
Vice-Chairperson: Curtis Jurgensmeyer, CEO, J-M Farms, Miami, Okla.
Secretary: Emily Bettencourt, director of quality assurance and safety, Global Mushrooms, Gilroy, Calif.
Treasurer: Mark Moran, Kaolin Mushrooms/South Mill Champs, Kennett Square, Pa.

The nine-member Council is comprised of eight domestic growers and one importer representing four regions. The program’s purpose is to maintain and expand existing mushroom markets and uses. Members are:

Region 1 (Includes all states except for Calif. and Pa.)

Curtis Jurgensmeyer, J-M Farms Inc.
Edward M. Wuensch III, Kitchen Pride Mushroom Farm
M. Fletcher Street, Ostrom Mushrooms

Region 2 (Includes Pennsylvania)

Joe Caldwell, Giorgi Mushroom Company
Sonya Beltran, Masda Mushrooms/First Generation Farms
Meghan Klotzbach, C.P. Yeatman & Sons/Mother Earth
Mark Moran, South Mill/Champs Mushrooms

Region 3 (Includes Calif.)

Emily Bettencourt, Global Mushrooms

Region 4 (Includes importers)

Jane Rhyno, Highline Mushrooms

Open Positions on the Council (2022-2024 term):

A call for nominations has been sent for three open positions on the Council for the 2022-2024 term. Please submit your completed nomination form to [email protected].

Region 2 (PA) – two open positions
Region 3 (CA) – 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.

Shipment Summary

To see current charts, click here.

The Month Ahead

DIGITAL

April is Earth Month and the sustainability section of MushroomCouncil.com will be getting a facelift with more information about mushroom sustainability, Marianne Smith Edge, MS, RDN, LD, FADA, FAND is contributing blog posts focused on sustainable nutrition, and a syndicated release titled “Deliciously Easy Sustainable Eating” will be distributed to print and online outlets.
- Share the updated sustainability pages, as well as updated graphics once they are available. We will send an email with links to all assets.

SCHOOL NUTRITION

From April 19-23, we will participate in the National CACFP Sponsors virtual conference. Malissa is a Panelist on “Ask Me About Head Start”, one of the popular Coffee & Conversation Series.
We will be at the conference as an exhibitor too! You can register for the conference at this link. We also continue to promote the Mushrooms in Schools webpage through Facebook and Twitter. Please encourage your school nutrition community to follow us on social and be on the lookout for new blog posts, recipes, and resources.

Highlights from March

PUBLIC RELATIONS

The industry-funded NHANES Study, published in Food & Science Nutrition in February, was referenced in an article on Runners World and Bicycling.com that shared the health benefits of mushrooms. Both articles explained that “Mushrooms are low in calories, carbohydrates, fat, and sodium—making them a healthy and easy addition to your meals, no matter your dietary restrictions.” Read the Runner’s World article and Bicycling.com article.
Michelle Obama’s new Netflix show, Waffles and Mochi, was released mid-March. The 10-episode series focuses on one food each episode with a goal of “exploring the wonders of food and culture while learning how to cook with fresh ingredients,” according to Netflix. In the ninth episode, Mrs. O, Waffles and Mochi are joined by Mycologist Eugenia Bone and Michelin-star chef Massimo Bottera to share fun facts, history and recipes with mushrooms that are approachable and easy to understand for kids. Additionally, mushrooms were highlighted as a ‘featured ingredient’ on the show’s official website – view here.
Through a partnership with Produce for Better Health Foundation, the Council hosted a Cook Along for retail dietitians with the help from Pam Smith, RDN. All 24 attendees received mushroom gift boxes containing mushroom promotional items as well as some elements needed for the Cook Along.

DIGITAL

Social media users were eager to ‘vote’ on their favorite mushroom dinner recipes among 4 Mushroom Council recipes. See which recipe people liked best on Twitter and share your favorite on Facebook.

FOODSERVICE

The Portabella and Swiss sub is on the menu at a national chain, Jersey Mike’s. March 31 was their “Day of Giving” where 100% of the profits of every sub sold go to a local charity.

SCHOOL NUTRITION

In March, Mushrooms in Schools promoted National School Breakfast Week with a breakfast-themed blog post. We hosted a webinar with the School Nutrition Services Dietetic Practice Group (800+ members) about merchandising grab-and-go school meals with easy, delicious, mushroom-themed meals. We also published two school recipes incorporating fresh mushrooms – Korean bulgogi rice bowl and roasted and marinated mushroom salad from districts that participated in our label maker giveaway. Please be sure to share these new resources with your school nutrition community!

Metrics

Mushroom Channel

Blenditarian

Mushroom Council Impressions YOY

Hashtags

Monthly Topline Report

Tracker Highlights – Period ending 1/24/2021

Spotlight – Notable and Newsworthy

In the 4-weeks – Cremini mushrooms drive category growth with $6M in incremental dollar sales
In the 52-weeks – Mushroom category continues long-term sales growth

Total Mushrooms – 4 Weeks

Mushroom category dollar sales continued to show double-digit growth at +11.6% for the period, outpacing Total Produce by +4.2 points
Dollar growth was driven by increases in volume (+8.6%) and average price/lb. (+2.8%)
All regions experienced dollar sales growth, led by California (+18.4%)
- Northeast saw the highest incremental sales growth at +$2.8M
- All markets except New Orleans and Tampa saw dollar gains. Albany led the markets in growth rate at +24.0%
Conventional and Organic mushroom sales continued to grow this period. Dollar sales of Conventional mushrooms added +$12.5M (+12.7%), while Organic sales rose +$776k (+4.9%)

*IRI/FreshLook Data provided by Fusion Marketing

Click Here for the Full Topline Report