Shipping Reports

Monthly Shipping Report | October 2013

October 29, 2013

COUNCIL UPDATE

  • As a courtesy, Exemption Applications for 2014 will be mailed on or about November 1, 2013 to those who currently hold an exemption number. Exempt producer must apply each year for exemption, 2013 exemption numbers expire on December 31, 2013 and a new number is needed for 2014.
  • The next Council meeting is being held on February 27-28, 2014 in Orlando, FL.
  • A call for nominations for 3-year terms beginning January 1, 2015 will be mailed no later than February 3, 2014. The regions with a position opening up are Region 1 (one position), Region 2 (one position) and Region 4 (one position). Please consider being a part of the Council.
  • USDA and the Mushroom Council encourage all eligible producers, including women, minorities and individuals with disabilities to participate in the nominations and seek nomination to serve on the Council.

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

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MARKETING SUMMARY

Mushroom Council Marketing Summary – September 2013

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  • The Council celebrated National Mushroom Month by sharing mushroom messages with a variety of audiences. Highlights include:
    • After registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield live-tweeted and blogged about the Mushrooms and Health Summit, she shared the full mushroom story in a TV segment on ABC 7 in Washington, D.C., hitting on Blendability, vitamin D and Swapability.
    • The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics created a free mushroom poster for members to download and use with clients to share mushrooms’ health and culinary benefits.
    • A 60-second radio clip showcasing the Summit, mushrooms’ health/nutrition benefits and Blendability aired across radio stations nationwide.
  • The Council is attending and exhibiting at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in Houston, TX, October 19-22. Attendees will have an opportunity to sample two different Blendability recipes: a from-scratch mushroom and turkey slider at the Council’s booth and a pre-made mushroom and beef burger at the JTM booth. Council representatives will also attend a meeting for Center for Policy and Promotion national strategic partners.
  • Facebook users cast 2,538 votes for their favorite recipe in the Council’s Swap it or Top it recipe contest. Of the 119 entries, the grand prize went to Linda Bonwill and her recipe for a Blue Port Salmon Burger with Peach Salsa, which received 1,326 total votes. The Council’s Facebook page features all of the winning recipes.

Swap It or Top It

  • Through a#Fall4Mushrooms Facebook tab/newsletter, hashtag and blog posts, the Mushroom Council kicked off Mushroom Month across social. A partnership with Blissful Media Group prompted a total of 1,378 tweets about mushrooms with links back to various resources on mushroominfo.com. Stemming from 496 user conversations, the social media burst garnered a total of 2,576,062 unique impressions surrounding the Council’s key messages of versatility, Blendability, health and nutrition. The #Fall4Mushrooms hashtag will continue to be used leading into October campaigns, building upon the strong engagement it has already received.
  • James Beard award-nominated writer, editor, and recipe developer Joy Manning attended the Mushroom Festival as a Mushroom Channel ambassador. Joy (@joymanning) posted 10 tweets, which garnered more than 3,287 impressions. A follow-up blog post with her Top Ten Highlights was shared on the Mushroom Channel blog and a second blog post featuring a recipe for Dan Dan Noodles with Mushrooms was shared on her personal blog.
    • The Council created a designated Facebook album highlighting snapshots from the festival, featuring everything from food to crafts to give online audiences a “taste” of the experience.

Mushroom Festival Highlight

Featured Recipes October

  • The Mushroom Channel participated in a Twitter chat, #HealthTalk, hosted by Bonnie Taub Dix (@EatSmartBD) and Everyday Health (@Everydayhealth). The chat focused on a lively discussion about how to break bad habits through healthy food and exercise. The hashtag generated 718 tweets from 189 unique participants, garnering 725,263 total impressions.

 

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On The Horizon

  • In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, the Council is working with bloggers to drive social media conversations about mushrooms’ nutrition benefits and the industry “going pink.”

 

FOODSERVICE SUMMARY

Foodserive Report OctoberIndustry Tools

Datassential is just about ready to publish its newest annual Mushroom research report showcasing mushroom penetration on the menu and mushroom performance with various cuisines and menu items.  Within the next 30-45 days, there will be new case histories available on social media with Epic Burger’s chef engagement with Washington University and upscale uses of mushrooms by restaurants in Brooklyn, Portland and New York City.

Marketing Summary

Colleges remain a primary focus of the Council’s menu development and promotional program. Colleges are where the Millennials form eating habits for life.  Yale, Stanford and Harvard continue to work on bringing new blendable items onto campus menus.  The Council will feature a major promotion in December at USC. University of Massachusetts is testing a mushroom-beef blended burger, their newest concept.  At Stanford, the Council is working with two famous chefs who have venues on campus. Brown, K-State, University of Texas and University of North Texas all have opportunities upcoming.

October Colleges

ACF LogoThe Southeastern chapter of the ACF recently held its second annual Mushroom Signature Recipe Contest and blendability was on the plate.  Items  included Chicken Florentine with a Chicken-Shiitake-Boursin  stew and Mushroom Bread Pudding, a Mushroom Meatball   made with ground pork and ground beef and duxelle mushrooms,  Portabella Mushroom Roulade with a chicken-quinoa-shiitake- crimini stuffing inside a portabella and topped with pickled king  trumpet mushrooms and yellow tomato compote, a Duck-Mushroom  Sausage with Mascarpone Polenta and Fennel and Seafood-Mushroom Sausage with sole, shrimp, scallop, crimini and shiitake with wild rice, thyme and nutmeg.

Denny PromoLast month, Denny’s launched a new Build Your Own Omelette promotion with graphics and a TV spot that depicted mushrooms.  They continue to run TV and now are focused on “Ome lart” and you cannot miss the visual and reference to mushrooms.  See it at:  http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7bap/dennys-build-your-own-omlette-omelart

Other chains leveraged the cravability of mushrooms.  California Pizza Kitchen add a new Shaved Mushroom Flatbread with creminis, sautéed spinach, romano and parmesan cheeses while Noodles and Company added a Thai Hot Pot with pulled pork and shiitake mushrooms in a curry broth along with an Alfredo Mont Amore with  parmesan chicken and roasted mushrooms.

Mushrooms were all over CIA’s Latin Flavors, American Kitchens conference which was attended by chains and colleges.  Well-known chef and friend of the Mushroom industry, Guillermo Pernot from Cuba Libre, created a Mango Mojito Shrimp with Crispy Kate and Shiitake Mushrooms. Other dishes included Huitlacoche Flan and Adobo Mushrooms as well as Traditional Peruvian Soup with Shrimp, Choclo, Shiitake and Black Andean Mint and Mote & Mushrooms in a Taro Consommé. Several chains spoke on a panel about their success with mushrooms and other vegetables and Blendability was highlighted in a talk about the Healthy Menus Collaborative, sponsored by The Mushroom Council.

On The Horizon

Besides the new case histories, the Council is undertaking an audit to replace existing materials with new materials.  With all that is happening on the Blendability front at colleges, restaurants and schools, the materials will need to be updated on a regular basis.  A large chain is about to re-launch a major mushroom promotion, a major fast casual will be launching two new menu items with mushrooms next month while a large Mexican chain will be debuting three new items with mushrooms.

 

SCHOOL NUTRITION SUMMARY

  • Mushroomsinschools.com has been approved. Share the link with all of your school nutrition contacts and use the website for recipes, student activities, case studies and nutrition information
  • Mushrooms have been officially added to the USDA Available Foods Catalogue for SY 2014/2015. If you are interested in supplying mushrooms to the USDA for the National School Lunch Program and have questions about the Approved Vendor Process please contact Katie Preis.
  • Cincinnati, Baltimore, Great Valley School District, New Orleans, Houston and Dallas are all in the planning stages for mushroom promotions this school year.
  • The Mushroom Council is hosting a School Nutrition Webinar Wednesday in November to showcase the availability and opportunity for mushrooms in the National School Lunch Program. Over 350 school foodservice directors are expected to attend the webinar. District representatives from St Louis and Cincinnati along with members of the USDA will be presenting during the session.
  • Johns Hopkins University and the Mushroom Council will be preforming a study on mushroom blended burger acceptability and calorie savings to take place in Baltimore Public Schools.
  • Mushroom Council is developing 10 new recipes for school foodservice to include both blended and scratch cooked recipes.
  • Council School Nutrition resources can be found here.

 

RETAIL SUMMARY

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The Topline report week ending 09/08/13 was sent to the industry on 10/18/13; click here to access the report online.

 Total Mushrooms – 4 Weeks

  • The Total U.S. dollar sales trend of +2.7% lagged Total Produce’s growth trend (+8.8%) by -6.1 points
  • The Plains Region led the dollar sales trends at +6.6%, with West coming in second at +6.1%. Midsouth and South Central were flat
  • On a Market basis, Kansas City posted very strong dollar growth at +19.0% (a large gain on a smaller base). Raleigh/Greensboro exhibited the largest decline at -4.2%
  • Volume in pounds for the Total U.S. increased by +2.2%. Plains led with the largest increase in volume at +6.5%, while Great Lakes and Midsouth declined -2.0%
  • At the Market level, Kansas City increased in volume +18.1%. Toledo exhibited the largest decrease at -10.7%

Segment/Variety – 4 Weeks

  • Total U.S. dollar sales of the White segment were flat, while Brown mushrooms grew +8.1% overall. Creminis showed a decline of -1.3%, while Portabellas showed strong growth, up +33.4%
  • On a Regional basis, the dollar sales trends for the White segment were mixed. Northeast delivered the top dollar sales trend (+4.1%), while Midsouth fell -4.9%
  • The Brown segment saw double-digit sales growth in five of eight Regions including Plains, up +24.3%. Northeast declined -6.3%
  • At the Market level, White segment dollar trends were mixed, ranging from +13.8% in Hartford/Springfield to a decline of -9.3% in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Half of the markets declined in White mushroom dollar sales. Meanwhile, in the Brown segment, 41 of 50 Markets posted strong gains, including Kansas City (+56.4%) and Cincinnati/Dayton (+38.0%)
  • Total U.S. volume in pounds for the White segment was flat, while the Brown segment saw overall volume growth of +7.0%, driven by Portabella mushrooms at +28.6%
  • On a Regional basis, half of the Regions increased in volume in the White segment, with Northeast leading (+6.5%). South Central and Midsouth both had declines of -6.8% and -4.7%, respectively. Five of eight Regions increased volume in the Brown segment, with South Central leading the Regions at +27.5%. Northeast showed the only decrease at -1.8%

Total Mushrooms – 52 Weeks

  • The Total U.S. dollar sales trend of +3.3% lagged Total Produce’s growth trend of +8.0% by -4.7 points
  • Most Regions were up in dollar sales vs. the prior 52-week period. Northeast holds the largest dollar share (20.9%) and grew +1.2% while Plains (6.9% share) led the Regions with the top dollar sales trend of +7.8%. Midsouth was flat for the period.
  • Most Markets experienced dollar growth, notably Milwaukee (+19.4%), New Orleans/Mobile (+10.1%), and Kansas City (+9.5%)
  • Total U.S. mushroom volume in pounds grew +3.6%
  • Most Regions witnessed volume growth, led by Plains at +7.4% and West at +6.7%. South Central was flat.
  • Only two of 50 Markets saw downward volume trends, including Harrisburg/Scranton (-2.8%), and Houston (-1.8%)

Segment/Variety – 52 Weeks

  • Total U.S. dollar sales for the White segment were flat, with Midsouth (-4.2%) and South Central (-3.9%) posting losses.  In the Brown segment, dollar sales were up +11.8%. All Regions posted positive trends with six Regions in the double-digits
    • Brown segment trends were driven by Portabella mushrooms, which hold a 28.8% dollar share of Browns and delivered sales growth of +29.3%
  • At the Market level, dollar sales trends in the White segment varied greatly, ranging from an increase of +15.0% in Milwaukee to a -7.1% decline in Dallas/Ft. Worth
  • The Brown segment saw very strong dollar sales gains across 47 of 50 Markets, with Salt Lake City leading at +34.4%. Hartford/Springfield showed a decline of -4.2%
  • Total U.S. volume in pounds of White mushrooms was flat, while gains were seen in California (+5.5) Plains (+3.0%) and West (+1.7%). Total U.S. volume in pounds of Brown mushrooms grew +13.6%, led by South Central, which grew volume +29.3%
    • Brown segment volume growth trends were driven by  Portabella mushrooms which have a 25.8% volume share of Browns and delivered volume growth of +33.5%
  • As with dollars, the Market level volume trends for the White segment were mixed, with 24 Markets trending downward including West Tex/New Mexico (-9.0%) and Dallas/Ft. Worth (-8.9%)
  • The volume trend of Brown mushrooms fared better, with only six Markets trending downward. San Francisco (-13.2%) and Hartford/Springfield (-5.6%) posted the largest losses
    • Strong volume increases in the Brown segment occurred in these Markets: West Tex/New Mexico (+58.5%), New Orleans/Mobile (+42.3%) and Salt Lake City (+38.9%)

 

Marketing Summary

Communications surrounding the Mushroom and Health Summit were shared with the trade press.

Mushroom and Health Summit Eyes Nutrition– The Packer 09/25/2013

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