Media Placements – 08/28/19

Mushrooms in the News: 8-28-19

Blended Burger Project winners are continuing to gain recognition in both consumer and trade outlets this week. The #MushroomADay for Mushroom Month overview also earned several trade stories. In other coverage:

Foodservice coverage was strong, with a feature by Restaurant Hospitality titled “Chefs Make Way for Mushrooms,” along with trade coverage of the Council’s involvement in the 5th annual Markon Chef Summit.

Meatingplace (leading meat industry trade publication) ran a large feature on blending, “Meat Me in the Middle.” It features an overview of the Blended Burger Project, quotes from Applegate sharing their blend traction, Sodexo, SONIC and universities.  

Food Navigator covered Hormel’s quarterly earnings call, in which the CEO credited its Applegate Great Organic Blended Burger sales as cause for optimism because it is ”filling a need in the college and university segment as students look for more ways to enjoy natural and organic alternative protein products.”

Two nutrition-focused articles ran this week highlighting both mushroom variety and blending. Real Simple looked at the nutritional benefits of several varieties with RD Frances Largeman-Roth stating: “one serving of cremini mushrooms is an excellent source of selenium, containing 40 percent of the recommended daily intake. Selenium may help the immune system function properly, so it’s a great mushroom to add to winter dishes, like soups, stews, and casseroles.” In Shape magazine, RD Jessica Cordingsuggests incorporating The Blend when making burgers at home.

Share these headlines and social highlights from August 22 – August 28 with your networks.

MEDIA + SOCIAL/DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS

Consumer

• 12 Sources of Lean Protein (Plus, What That Even Means) – SHAPE
• Meat Me in the Middle – Meatingplace
• Why People are Adding Mushrooms to Everything from Coffee to Smoothies – Real Simple
• Hops at 84 East among James Beard winners – Holland Sentinel (Michigan)
• Brevard Eateries win Beard Burger Contest – Florida Today
• Local Restaurant Wins National Award – Alabama Today (WSFA NBC, Montgomery)
• Local Restaurant Designated A Winner for James Beard Blended Burger Project – CentsableSteals.com (Montgomery, Alabama)
• Dining Playbook with Billy and Jenny – New England Sports Network
• Blended burger gets boost at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva – Finger Lakes Times, Ithica.com (New York)
• Easy and healthy back-to-school dinners kids will love – Fox 17 (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
• Mushroom Magic – Muscle and Fitness
• Easy Pasta with Mixed Mushrooms – Bon Appetit 
• This Year’s EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Menus Look Delicious – Disney at Heart
• ‘Route 395’ burger, by David Theiss – Nevada Appeal
• Eat These Foods For a Healthy Brain – Chic Vegan

Trade

• Mushroom Council launches month-long campaign for mushrooms as kitchen staple – Produce Blue Book
• Mushroom Council Launches Month-Long Campaign Underscoring Mushrooms as a Kitchen Staple – PerishableNews.com 
• Hormel affirms outlook on strength of pricing, promotions and product innovation despite sales drop – Food Navigator
• Mushroom Council to launch campaign for mushroom month in September – The Packer
• James Beard Foundation Announces Winners of Blended Burger Project™ – AndNowUKnow
• Five restaurants win James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project – The Packer
• Introducing the Winners of James Beard Foundation’s Fifth Annual Blended Burger Project – PerishableNews.com
• Blending better burgers – Meat+Poultry
• Chefs make way for mushrooms – Restaurant Hospitality
• Chef Summit focused on plant-forward dishes – Fresh Plaza
• Markon Hosts Fifth Annual Chef Summit – PerishableNews.com 
• Chefs convene at Markon summit to focus on plant-forward dishes – The Packer 

NOTEWORTHY SOCIAL/DIGITAL ACTIVITY

Blenditarian fan, @foodallergymoms_andmore, shared her blended pasta on Instagram, stating: 

“Today’s lunch of finely chopped, cooked crimini #mushrooms blended with an organic ground beef marinara sauce over veggie bow tie pasta was definitely toddler-approved! 

I think I got 2 bites; my youngest cleaned MY plate! I love that by adding #theblend of mushrooms to the mix that my kids are getting an extra serving of vegetables – and they don’t even know it. ?”