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Shipping Reports

Monthly Shipping Report | December 2015

December 21, 2015

COUNCIL UPDATE

  • The Council office has moved! Our new address is 303 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 600, Redwood Shores, CA 94065; (650) 632-4250.
  • The next Council meeting is February 3-4, 2016 in Austin, TX. If you plan on attending, please email [email protected] so we can make sure you are accommodated.
  • At the Council meeting held on September 16, the Council voted to increase the assessment rate from .005 to .0055 starting January 1, 2016. The last time the assessment rate was increased was 2008.
  • Exemption Applications for 2016, as a courtesy, were mailed to those producers who are currently exempt. If you did not receive an application and believe you may be exempt email [email protected].
  • Nominations for the 2017 open Council positions will be mailed on or about February 1, 2016. Positions opening up are Region 1 (one position) Region 2; PA (one position) and Region 3 (one position). Please consider being a part of the Council.

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

To see current charts, click here.

MARKETING SUMMARY

Mushroom Council Marketing Summary – November 2015

Note: We are implementing a new and improved print and online media tracking/reporting mechanism. Monthly media impressions will be reported again on a monthly basis beginning in January 2016.

  • Truffle-Laced Chicken with Mushrooms, Polenta & Roasted Broccolini, Every Day with Rachel Ray, November 2015
  • Beer-braised chicken thighs with cremini mushrooms, Cooking Light, November 2015
  • Whole-Grain Stuffing with Mustard Greens, Mushroom and Fontina, Food & Wine, November 2015
  • Mushroom-Barley Salad, Food & Wine, November 2015
  • Herby Barley Salad with Butter-basted Mushrooms, bon appétit, November 2015
  • Braised Venison Shoulder with Mushroom Pierogi, Saveur, November 2015
  • Media highlight of the month: Sara Moulton, well-known chef, cookbook author, TV personality and regular contributor to the Associated Press wrote a great article spotlighting mushrooms for the modern era.

Digital Metrics:

For more detailed social analytics download the Social Analytics Report here.

FOODSERVICE SUMMARY

As we move towards the end of the year, the activity has not let up.

IFEC

Every year, all the editors of foodservice publications convene to talk to public relations professionals about 2016.  The Mushroom Council participated in office hours where we met with the top editors who will be writing about The Blend and other mushroom stories. The Mushroom Council discussed with editors where mushroom content would best fit according to their editorial calendars.

At the end of the event, after talking about the Blend, The Council demonstrated the power of The Blend with a closing event.  Two JBF campaign participating chefs, Chef Dave Conn from Village Whiskey in Philadelphia and Chef Garrett Pittler from Barlines in Nashville, prepared their blend burgers for 80 editors and potential partners.  They each presented the burgers that they menued during the James Beard Foundation promotion, and the editors had the opportunity to visit with the chefs to learn why they were so excited about The Blend.

Other Restaurants and Chains

This month, The Council finished up menu development with 4 major chains including two which are evaluating the Blend.  At another non-commercial chain, a pilot test is going on around the Blend.  And, two burger chains—one national and one regional—are preparing for their launch of a mushroom product.   We are starting menu development at several other chains for after the first of the year.

Colleges and Universities and FSMs

While the Council was an active presenter this year at NACUFS national conference and selected regional conferences, we are already being invited to present information about the Blend in other regions.  This month the  Council began fielding requests for presentations.  At the same time, we have been invited to UCLA to demo the Blend on behalf of their buying group.

SCHOOL NUTRITION SUMMARY

  • Mushroom Council participated in the Culinary Institute of America’s inaugural Healthy Kids Collaborative with an influential group of operator and corporate members. During the conference Council representative presented a case study on the Blends introduction in Sodexo K-12 accounts, participated in group discussions and sensory exercises. Mushroom blended entrees were featured in the hands on kitchen session and during meal breaks. Several districts expressed interest in testing the Blend after the conference. There was also interest from the corporate members for future collaboration.
  • Mushroom Council representatives met with the director of Culinary for Sodexo to interview her on Sodexo’s path of introducing the Blend to their 413 districts. The interview will be developed into a case study sales resource.
  • A Session proposal was accepted at the School Nutrition Association’s upcoming annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. The session will highlight the benefits of Blending mushrooms with meat entrees to increase vegetable consumption and create nutritious, delicious kid approved meals.
  • A session proposal highlighting the work with the Mushroom Council, the Montana Beef Association and the Montana Beef for Montana Schools project was submitted to the upcoming Farm to School conference in Madison, Wisconsin. The session will highlight how blending mushrooms with local beef benefits the farmers, districts and students.
  • Pilots are in planning stages for blend promotions in Nashville, TN, Greeneville, SC and the state of Florida through the Florida Department of Agriculture. Pilots will include IQF Blending as well as fresh mushroom menu usage will be included in these promotions.
  • An advertisement featuring the availability and benefits of IQF Mushrooms for direct delivery was featured in the November issue of School Nutrition Magazine with accompanying digital banner ads on the School Nutrition Association website.
  • A direct mail featuring tips from Dayle Hayes’ to incorporate more vegetables into student meals was distributed to school nutrition directors.
  • All recipes on mushroomsinschools.com are currently being updated to meet changing meal pattern requirements. You can view the updated recipes and resources here.

NUTRITION

Supermarket RD

The Council has engaged in recent conversations with a few potential partners to help expand supermarket RD outreach in 2016 including Oldways, Shopping for Health, Retail Dietitians Business Alliance, and Today’s Dietitian. More details to come on these opportunities as we confirm partnerships. The Council’s new and improved supermarket dietitian toolkit is underway and will be a comprehensive resource that helps keep mushrooms and The Blend top-of-mind for this target influencer audience.

Kroger’s retail dietitians are including three mushroom recipes in their pilot digital circulars early next year. We will share examples once they launch. Weis dietitian is including mushrooms as part of their superfoods program, which includes 4×6” signs that will be displayed in stores with nutrition information and usage tips.

Nutrition Education

The Council continues to build out its nutrition resource library. “Less Salt. More Flavor“, a handout on sodium reduction, is finalized and now available on MushroomInfo.com and MushroomCouncil.org. “Manage Your Weight with Mushrooms” is currently under USDA review and should be finalized and available next month.

The Q4 Nutrition News about Mushrooms e-newsletter is currently in design and should be distributed to over 8,000 nutrition professionals this week. In this issue, registered dietitian, chef, and media spokesperson, Jackie Newgent writes a guest article on sodium reduction and umami in mushrooms. The Council has also started working on communication materials for 2016, including an improved, comprehensive retail dietitian toolkit.

RETAIL SUMMARY

The Council continues to target small to mid-sized regional retailers (on both coasts) for the introduction of The Blend in the grocery chain’s deli, foodservice, produce and meat departments.  We continue to reach out to to retailers as well as prepare for our 2016 year with newly updated sales information and co-marketing plans that promote mushrooms and The Blend at retail.

Shippers / Growers

The Council is providing retail marketing expertise for shippers and growers. The Council provides information, promotional planning and hands-on consulation. The Council assists shippers and growers in expanding their promotions and sales as it relates to mushrooms and The Blend. If you would like assitance with your mushroom or Blend program please reachout. You can find contact information on MusroomsAtRetail.com

The Council is currently working with two shippers on programs and materials for The Blend. Various materials and programs are in progress to generate awarness and sales of The Blend at retail.

Weis Markets continues to promote The Blend through their Healthy Bites magazine. It will remain in stores through 12/30. The cover of their Weis Healthy Bites magazine features Chicken Marsala Meatballs (which calls for a 33% mushroom Blend). It remains posted on their website at www.weismarkets.com/healthy-living/weis-healthy-bites/.

Mom’s Organic Market has requested a meeting to determine how they can introduce The Blend to their customers. The Council is working with them to leverage The Blend to increase their sales of meat and mushrooms.

The Council is in the process of lining up opportunities for 2016 co-marketing promotions. Here are few organizations that are in negotations with the Council. It is too early to determine which of these will develop into a fruitful promotional opportunity.

The Beef Checkoff has reached out to the Council and expressed a desire to work with us again in 2016. The Board of the Beef Checkoff was extremely pleased with the mutual cooperation between the two organizations for the results of the very successful promotion. They were pleased with the Council’s participation and support,  noting the benefit the promotion gained through the Council’s social media program. This aspect of the promotion helped generate more entries and excitement at the end of the promotion.

The Council is in discussion with the Beef Checkoff for a 2016 Summer Grilling promotion similar to 2015. Promotion may include on-pack labels, TV spots and social media promotion. A new Blend recipe would be developed.

The American Lamb Board and the Council are discussing potential cross promotions for 2016. The Council will discuss cross-promotional activity for Lamb Lovers Month in February along with the Lamb Jam Master. Additional promotions including social media sharing of recipe assets is also being discussed.

The Gourmet Garden recipes on MushroomInfo website are still generating pageviews. The most viewed recipes are the Thai-Style Coconut Chicken Soup and the Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms.

Promotional Materials:

The Blend presentation deck that can be utilized by your sales force is being updated and greatly simplified.  The new deck will improve the selling-in of The Blend program.

Industry Tools

TOPLINE REPORTS

Tracker Highlights from 11/1/2015 

Spotlight – Notable and Newsworthy

  • In the 4-weeks – Organic Mushrooms Drove 71% of Total Dollar Growth
  • In the 52-weeks – Cremini Mushrooms Drove 98% of Brown Dollar Growth

Click here for the full report

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