Shipping Reports

Monthly Shipping Report | May 2014

May 30, 2014

COUNCIL UPDATE

  • Nominations are now closed. Ballots are being prepared and will be mailed on June 2, 2014. Regions with a position opening up are Region 1; all states except CA & PA (one position), Region 2; PA (one position) and Region 4; Importer (one position). Ballots must be postmarked by June 30.
  • The next Council meeting is being held on September 8-9, 2014 in Kennett Square, PA. If you are interested in attending, please contact [email protected] so we can make sure that you are accommodated.
  • Grower /Shipper meetings are being held in June. The Mushroom Council continues to build on its successful nutrition research and promotion effort. Expanding into colleges and universities and now into the school lunch program appears to be adding a new dimension to the Council’s outreach efforts that looks promising. Come hear about recent accomplishments and programs relative to the Council’s consumer, foodservice and retail category management efforts and offer your feedback to your Council representatives. The value of the Council to the industry is strengthened by industry input and support; please attend and offer your point of view.
    The following is a schedule of upcoming meetings:
  • Retail Sales Trends Webinar is being held on Thursday, June 12 @ 12:00PST/2:00CST/3:00pmEST.
    To register, click here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/204964990
    Topics include:

    • Increasing and Declining Store Formats: Forecasted Grocery Sales Changes through 2017
    • Get in on the Ground Floor: Online Grocery Delivery – Growing Quickly
    • Organic, Local and Natural: Shoppers Want to Know More
    • Take Advantage: Breakfast and Snacking trends
  • The May issue of Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative Bulletin can be viewed here

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

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To see current charts click here.

MARKETING SUMMARY

Mushroom Council Marketing Summary – April 2014

April14-Media-Impressions

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  • A Twitter party hosted by Flatout Bread, with Hungry Girl as a sponsor, served as an opportunity to engage and share fresh mushroom recipes for spring. The party resulted in 2,300 tweets and 500,000+ impressions.

  • The Mushroom Channel promoted mushroom dishes from Ruby Tuesday, Five Guys, Chilis, Seasons 52, Bar Louie, Noodles and Company, PF Changs, Capital Grille, Red Robin, Brio Tucan Grille and Garden Deluxe.
    • During foodservice events at Texas A&M and Southeast Missouri State University the Mushroom Channel retweeted the highlights from their dining room, and a live demo with Chef Jehangir Mehta.
  • Pinterest Highlights:
    • A Pinterest board featuring the videos created in partnership with The Culinary Institute of America received 25 repins and created another source of referral traffic for The Mushroom Channel YouTube page.
    • A Pinterest board honoring National Grilled Cheese Month generated 95 repins from 15 pins. The board was shared on Facebook and Twitter for National Grilled Cheese Day.

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

On the Horizon

  • May is “Celiac Awareness Month” and the Council is engaging gluten-free experts to share messaging across Council platforms, updates in June’s Shipment Report.
  • The Council is again hosting the Swap It or Top It recipe contest to encourage consumers to submit their best mushroom burger recipes for a chance to win prizes. The second annual contest kicks off on June 1st and will run through August 15th.

 

FOODSERVICE SUMMARY

Marketing Summary
This summer will see more mushrooms on the menu and blendability breaking away from colleges and moving into more commercial restaurants. The Council continues to focus on working with chains, chefs and manufacturers to bring blendability to life.

foodservice_JehangirMehtaEarth Day College Promotions: For the week of Earth Day, mushroom promotions were in full swing at a number of colleges. At Texas A&M, one of the largest universities in the country, the dining program menued nearly 30 different blendable items. Council Chef Jehangir Mehta was on hand to demo his Graffiti Burger that he menus at his NYC restaurant. The Council provided educational materials and sessions along with other promotional materials. The Council also supported Earth Day promotions at Bowling Green State University, Southeast Missouri State and University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. SEMO ran a contest, “What Kind of Fungi Are You” while the other universities promoted “Earth Day is Every Day.”

foodservice_stanford-cookoffStanford University: Stanford used the month of April to promote mushrooms across their menus and throughout their promotional calendar. They introduced a blendable burger in one of the dorms, and the Council is working with them to roll out to the entire campus. They also held the Cardinal Cook-Off for ”want-to-be” student chefs. The students had to cook with seafood and mushrooms for the contest. The Other activities included a special educational class by Chef Mark Miller who talked to a select group of students about mushrooms in Mexican cuisine, and then cooked Mushroom dishes at his Cardinal Sage station.

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The Council continues to work with Disney, and recently held several nutritional seminars and a recipe contest for kid’s meals among their chefs. This week, the Council is at Disney World working on blendability and nutrition.

The Council also is working with a number of chains on blendability and held a demo at CVS in Rhode Island on the concept. All the CVS corporate locations around the country are featuring blendable items on their menu. Through our participation with International Corporate Chefs Association, The Council, along with Sweet Street, hosted a number of chains on a tour of mushroom farms. R&D chefs from Captain D’s, Maggiano’s, Brio/Bravo, ARAMARK, Compass and Morrison and Amtrak were among those who learned about mushroom farming and had the chance to see blendability in action.
foodservice_cvs-demo
Coming up will be a menu development immersion with one of the top national chains, a blendable lunch for the Marketing Executives Group before NRA, several CIA opportunities and a number of new mushroom items on menus. The University of Washington will be ending its year with one of the largest mushroom promotions ever.

SCHOOL NUTRITION SUMMARY

  • Mushroom Council sponsored the Culinary Institute’s Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids conference in San Antonio. Attendees of the conference sampled blended tacos, meatballs and more while hearing a presentation from Cincinnati Public Schools foodservice director and mushroom advocate, Jessica Shelley. Many districts in attendance have incorporated mushroom blended entrée into the lunch menu.
  • Council representatives exhibited at the State School Nutrition Shows for Florida and Georgia. The mushroom taco blend was sampled at both events. The Council plans to exhibit at the Texas and North Carolina State Nutrition shows next month. Mushroom shippers are encouraged to participate in their local state shows. For more information visit www.mushroomcouncil.org/schoolnutrition
  • Mushroom promotions are currently being planned for Houston, Austin, Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia and Oakland for Fall 2014.
  • Advance Pierre has joined JTM to provide mushroom blended burgers for the National School Lunch Program by introducing two mushroom blended grilled burgers with Child Nutrition labels.
  • Mushroom Council advertising continued in School Nutrition Magazine, CSI Food Pro e-blasts and on the School Nutrition Website to grow demand for USDA mushrooms and Fresh mushrooms in the National School Lunch Program before the busy March ordering period.
  • The monthly E-Blast and blog posts highlighting mushrooms to promote student athletic performance were shared with our school nutrition networks.
  • Council School Nutrition resources can be found here.

 

RETAIL SUMMARY

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The Topline report week ending 03/23/14 was sent to the industry on 5/27/14; click here to access the report online.

Topline Retail Report – Highlights (4 and 52 Weeks Ending 3/23/2014)

Spotlight – Notable and Newsworthy

  • Mushroom category price/lb jumped up +2.1% in the latest 4-week period, the largest increase we have seen over the past year. As a point of comparison, Total Produce price/lb was up +4.7% during the same time and has been steadily increasing. The increase in mushroom price was driven primarily by White mushrooms, up +1.8% and Portabellas up +3.5%
  • For the first time in six 4-week periods, White mushroom dollars were down slightly, -0.3%. For more information on these trends, please see below

Total Mushrooms – 4 Weeks

  • The Total U.S. dollar sales trend of +3.5% lagged Total Produce’s growth of +5.3% by -1.8 points
  • Midsouth led in dollar growth rate at +5.5%, with California a close second at +5.4%
  • On a Market basis, Omaha posted strong dollar growth at +20.8%. Nine Markets posted declines including Grand Rapids, down -10.2%
  • Volume in pounds for the Total U.S. increased by +1.3%. Midsouth led the Regions with a volume increase of +7.0%. Great Lakes, Plains and South Central declined
  • At the Market level, Omaha showed the largest increase in volume at +21.4%

Segment/Variety – 4 Weeks

  • Total U.S. dollar sales of the White segment were flat at -0.3%, while Brown mushrooms exhibited double-digit growth of +10.3%
  • Both Creminis and Portabellas experienced strong dollar growth at +8.4% and +15.2%, respectively
  • On a Regional basis, White mushrooms growth rates varied from up +5.2% in California to down -8.5% in Southeast
  • Brown mushrooms fared significantly better with growth in seven of eight regions and flat sales in California. Dollars in Southeast grew by nearly +20%
  • At the Market level, White segment dollar trends varied greatly, ranging from growth of +19.7% in Omaha to a decline of -14.8% in New Orleans/Mobile. In the Brown segment, 46 of 50 Markets posted strong gains, including Kansas City (+35.2%) and Omaha (+30.9%)
  • Total U.S. volume in pounds for the White segment was down -2.1%, while the Brown segment saw overall volume growth of +9.1%, driven by Cremini mushrooms up +8.3% or +378k pounds
  • On a Regional basis, California delivered the largest White volume growth rate at +3.5%, while Southeast posted the largest White segment volume decline at -10.6%
  • In the Brown segment, Southeast led Regional volume growth at +28.1%. California (-2.9%) and Great Lakes (-8.5%) declined

Total Mushrooms – 52 Weeks

  • The Total U.S. dollar sales trend of +3.0% lagged Total Produce’s growth trend of +6.2% by -3.2 points
  • Plains (7.0% dollar share) led the Regions with the top dollar sales trend of +6.1%, while Northeast holds the largest dollar share (20.7%) and grew +0.8%. All Regions posted gains
  • Most Markets experienced dollar growth, notably Omaha (+11.9%), Kansas City (+10.7%) and Chicago (+8.4%)
  • Total U.S. mushroom volume in pounds grew +2.9%
  • All Regions delivered volume growth, led by West at +4.5% and Northeast at +4.4%
  • Only five of 50 Markets saw downward volume trends, including Sacramento and Toledo, both down -3.3%

Segment/Variety – 52 Weeks

  • Total U.S. dollar sales for the White segment were flat, with California (+2.6%) and Plains (+1.4%) posting the largest gains. In the Brown segment, dollar sales were up +8.4% in Total U.S. Six Regions posted positive trends, of which four Regions in the double-digits
    • Brown segment dollar trends were driven by Portabella mushrooms, which hold a 31.0% dollar share of Browns and delivered sales growth of +27.9%
  • At the Market level, dollar sales trends in the White segment ranged from an increase of +6.5% in Sacramento to a -5.0% decline in Seattle
  • The Brown segment saw very strong dollar sales gains across 43 of 50 Markets, with Denver leading at +33.5%. Sacramento showed the largest decline of-9.0%
  • Total U.S. volume in pounds of White mushrooms was flat, but growth was seen in Northeast (+3.9%), California (+1.2%), West (+1.2%) and Plains (+1.1%). Total U.S. volume in pounds of Brown mushrooms grew +8.9%, led by South Central with growth of +20.1%
    • Brown segment volume growth trends were driven by Portabella mushrooms which have a 28.7% volume share of Browns and delivered volume growth of +32.6%
  • As with dollars, the Market level volume trends for the White segment were mixed, with 24 Markets trending upward including New York (+7.4%) and Chicago (+5.6%)
  • The volume trend of Brown mushrooms fared better, with only five Markets trending downward. Sacramento (-14.3%) and San Francisco (-11.4%) posted the largest losses
  • Strong volume growth in the Brown segment occurred in these Markets: Kansas City (+31.5%), Salt Lake City (+26.3%) and Houston (+26.3%)

Industry Tools

  • Market Insights Retail Sales Tool:
    • If you are interested in signing up for the Market Insights Retail Sales Tool contact Cheryl to register.
  • Blue Print for Profit:
    • An updated Blueprint for Profit is available here.
  • Swap It or Top It Retail Display Contest:
    • Information was shared with the industry on February 19, 2014. Materials for the contest can be found here.
    • Retail Display Contest kit orders were due April 30th. Contest materials were shipped the first week in May.
  • Retail Sales Trends Webinar: Thursday, June 12 @ 12:00PST/2:00CST/3:00pmEST.
    To register, click here: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/204964990
    Topics include:

    • Increasing and Declining Store Formats: Forecasted Grocery Sales Changes through 2017
    • Get in on the Ground Floor: Online Grocery Delivery – Growing Quickly
    • Organic, Local and Natural: Shoppers Want to Know More
    • Take Advantage: Breakfast and Snacking trends
  • Mushroom Mania Hits College Campuses Press Release was featured in the Packer and Perishable News.
    Mushroom Takeover on the Menu was featured in Produce Business.

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