Monthly Shipping and Marketing Report | April 2020

Council Update

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

Open Positions on the Council (2021-2023 term):
A call for nominations will be sent on or about February 3, 2020 for three open positions on the Council for the 2021-2023 term.

• 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 encourage all eligible producers, including women, minorities and individuals with disabilities to participate and seek nomination.
Exemption Applications: The exemption applications for the 2020 calendar year have been mailed to those who are currently exempt. If you do not receive an application, please email [email protected]

Council Meeting:

• The next Council meeting will take place on June 24-25 in Minneapolis, MN – however, this could potentially be an online meeting. If you would like to attend, please reach out to C[email protected].

Have you seen the new website?

This site brings together all the council microsites into one resource for industry members, retailers, dietitians, school nutrition and foodservice professionals. 

Click here to take a tour of the new and improved mushroomcouncil.org

Shipment Summary Highlights

While the COVID-19 impact is staggering to the foodservice industry, this retail sales data, as well as media coverage, demonstrate that fresh mushrooms continue to climb up the “staple” scale. Our monthly shipping reports revealed a run of record highs in late 2019, with December expected to exceed 90 million pounds, the first time that has occurred. By January, media placed mushrooms in their top 2020 top food trend forecasts in more than 50 articles. In February, CNN took notice and declared mushrooms the “new grocery aisle celebrities.” As this crisis took hold, media began noting mushrooms during this time.

Shipment Summary

To see current charts, click here.

The Month Ahead

DIGITAL

• Earth Month promotions will spotlight mushroom sustainability and earth-friendly qualities.
  • Share blog content: 
    • Mushrooms: The Official Ingredient for Earth Day Blog
    • The Mushroom Sustainability Story Blog
  • Download graphics:
    • Gentle on the Planet Gif
    • Happy Earth Day Graphic
    • “Official Ingredient of Earth Day” Graphics
    • Sustainability Infographics
• “Day of the Mushroom” promotions (April 15) will spotlight each unique mushroom variety along with facts and recipes. 
  • Share mushroom facts from MushroomCouncil.com. 
  • Follow along and reshare posts from Mushroom Council’s Facebook and Twitter.
  • Download and share Day of the Mushroom graphics.

Highlights from March

DIGITAL

• The Council partnered with Chef Chris Kronner to serve “Maitake KronnerBurgers” at the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America Raising the Bar event in San Francisco. The maitake-beef blended sliders were a hit, even being called the “best bite” by attendees. See the Mushroom Council shoutout in trade publication AndNowUKnow.
• The Council attended the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Culinary Professionals Dietary Practice Group workshop in Napa, Calif. March 12-14. Numerous mushroom dishes were sampled and the Council along with Holly Burriesci from Monterey Mushrooms led a session on mushroom nutrition, varieties and The Blend.
• The Remix Your Burger campaign received coverage on a handful of trade publication websites, including: The Packer, AndNowUKnow, Perishable News and Produce Blue Book. The campaign is a YouTube ad that encourages viewers to up their burger game with The Blend – watch here.

Digital Metrics

Mushroom Channel

Blenditarian

Digital Metrics

Tracker Highlights – Period ending 01/26/2020

• Download the Highlights (4 & 52 Weeks) Report
• Download the Graphic Highlights Report

Spotlight – Notable and Newsworthy

• In the 4-weeks – Fresh mushroom category dollars up +1.9%
• In the 52-weeks – Cremini and Specialty mushrooms show sales growth, while White, Portabella and Value Added segments declined, resulting in flat dollar sales for the 52-week period

*IRI/FreshLook Data provided by Fusion Marketing