Mushroom marketers primed for summer grilling season
Mushroom marketers primed for summer grilling season
With the beginning of summer just weeks away, mushroom marketers are primed for the spike in sales that results with the start of the grilling season.
Joe Caldwell, vice president at Watsonville, CA-based Monterey Mushrooms, said that the summer month s used to be slow for Monterey Mushrooms, but about 10 years ago, the company started promotions in the summer. The promotions were buoyed by the lack of competition that mushrooms enjoy. "People eat mushrooms with other things, but they don't buy s omething instead of mushrooms," he said.
Monterey Mushrooms' Portabella variety has increased to where it now comprises 15-18 percent of the company's total mushroom sales, up three to four times from a decade ago, Mr. Caldwell said, attributing the increase to the popularity of the variety as a grilling food.
Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Kennett Square, PA-based Phillips Mushroom Farms, said that the company's business is split pretty evenly between retail and foodservice, both of which are showing strong growth. Health benefits associated with eating mushrooms have helped, and interest at foodservice should continue to grow, he said.
The company's proprietary product formulations include pouch-pack marinated Portabellas, mu shroom sauces, custom-cut IQF mushrooms, purees and bulk dry mushrooms. Packaged product is preferred over bulk and overwrap packaging still dominates, though clamshells are used a bit, Mr. Donovan said.
Phillips -- one of the leading specialty mushroom growers in the United States -- introduced prestuffed Portabellas last year. They are taking off and "selling like crazy, Mr. Donovan said.
Paul Frederic, vice president of marketing for Avondale, PA-based Modern Mushroom Farms Inc., said that while the company's eight-ounce whole white mushrooms have been popular with consumers, it is Modern's sliced white mushrooms that are coming on with consumers. Presliced mushrooms should continue to grow in popularity, Mr. Frederic said.
About a yea r ago, the company introduced three different packs of Portabella mushrooms.
The overwrap is present on perhaps 98 percent of Modern's retail sales, but the company has introduced an eight-ounce clamshell -- a plastic dome over a two-piece tray -- for some of its retailers. Bulk packs -- typically three-, five- and 10-pound packs -- are popular for foodservice, Mr. Frederic said.
The company has also made a push to tie into salads, capturing both a healthy-eating concept along with the trend toward easy-preparation meals. The company packs under its own label, a store's label and the "Green Giant Fresh label, and in November acquired Ventura, CA-based California Mushroom Farm.
Michael Basciani of Avondale, PA-based Basciani Mushroom Farms, sa id that his company -- now in its 80th year in business -- is 80 percent in foodservice and 20 percent in retail.
Basciani Mushroom grows and handles 1 million pounds of mushrooms a week, Mr. Basciani said, including the Shiitake, Portabella and Crimin i varieties. The company also is getting into domestic exotic mushrooms.
Basciani is trying to increase pack size -- beyond the traditional three-, five- and 10-pound packs for foodservice -- for isolated customers that only sell to themselves, such as restaurant chains. The company is seeking to get more weight per container per pallet for less handling and lower trucking costs, Mr. Basciani said.
For grilling purposes, Shiitake and oyster mushrooms are coming on, Mr. Basciani said. The company has a four-and-a-half-inch Portabella cap for the Applebee's restaurant chain that has been a big success, Mr. Basciani said. The company's wild exotics -- Morel, Blue Foot and Chanterelle varieties -- are doing well. "There's a mushroom for every culture, he said.
"We can't go to clamshells because the costs of the clamshells keep going up, Mr. Basciani said. "We can't pass our costs along to our customers -- clamshells cost twice as much. Mushrooms in a cellophane pack work.
While the summer months are strong for mushroom sales, it's also the time when mushroom growers experience soaring electric bills because of the need to run air conditioning units and heating units at the same time, Mr. Basciani said.
Mr. Basciani said that the trend for retail chains will be to go toward "everyday low prices, which is an advantage to the store and the farmer.
Joe Caldwell, vice president at Watsonville, CA-based Monterey Mushrooms, said that the summer month s used to be slow for Monterey Mushrooms, but about 10 years ago, the company started promotions in the summer. The promotions were buoyed by the lack of competition that mushrooms enjoy. "People eat mushrooms with other things, but they don't buy s omething instead of mushrooms," he said.
Monterey Mushrooms' Portabella variety has increased to where it now comprises 15-18 percent of the company's total mushroom sales, up three to four times from a decade ago, Mr. Caldwell said, attributing the increase to the popularity of the variety as a grilling food.
Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Kennett Square, PA-based Phillips Mushroom Farms, said that the company's business is split pretty evenly between retail and foodservice, both of which are showing strong growth. Health benefits associated with eating mushrooms have helped, and interest at foodservice should continue to grow, he said.
The company's proprietary product formulations include pouch-pack marinated Portabellas, mu shroom sauces, custom-cut IQF mushrooms, purees and bulk dry mushrooms. Packaged product is preferred over bulk and overwrap packaging still dominates, though clamshells are used a bit, Mr. Donovan said.
Phillips -- one of the leading specialty mushroom growers in the United States -- introduced prestuffed Portabellas last year. They are taking off and "selling like crazy, Mr. Donovan said.
Paul Frederic, vice president of marketing for Avondale, PA-based Modern Mushroom Farms Inc., said that while the company's eight-ounce whole white mushrooms have been popular with consumers, it is Modern's sliced white mushrooms that are coming on with consumers. Presliced mushrooms should continue to grow in popularity, Mr. Frederic said.
About a yea r ago, the company introduced three different packs of Portabella mushrooms.
The overwrap is present on perhaps 98 percent of Modern's retail sales, but the company has introduced an eight-ounce clamshell -- a plastic dome over a two-piece tray -- for some of its retailers. Bulk packs -- typically three-, five- and 10-pound packs -- are popular for foodservice, Mr. Frederic said.
The company has also made a push to tie into salads, capturing both a healthy-eating concept along with the trend toward easy-preparation meals. The company packs under its own label, a store's label and the "Green Giant Fresh label, and in November acquired Ventura, CA-based California Mushroom Farm.
Michael Basciani of Avondale, PA-based Basciani Mushroom Farms, sa id that his company -- now in its 80th year in business -- is 80 percent in foodservice and 20 percent in retail.
Basciani Mushroom grows and handles 1 million pounds of mushrooms a week, Mr. Basciani said, including the Shiitake, Portabella and Crimin i varieties. The company also is getting into domestic exotic mushrooms.
Basciani is trying to increase pack size -- beyond the traditional three-, five- and 10-pound packs for foodservice -- for isolated customers that only sell to themselves, such as restaurant chains. The company is seeking to get more weight per container per pallet for less handling and lower trucking costs, Mr. Basciani said.
For grilling purposes, Shiitake and oyster mushrooms are coming on, Mr. Basciani said. The company has a four-and-a-half-inch Portabella cap for the Applebee's restaurant chain that has been a big success, Mr. Basciani said. The company's wild exotics -- Morel, Blue Foot and Chanterelle varieties -- are doing well. "There's a mushroom for every culture, he said.
"We can't go to clamshells because the costs of the clamshells keep going up, Mr. Basciani said. "We can't pass our costs along to our customers -- clamshells cost twice as much. Mushrooms in a cellophane pack work.
While the summer months are strong for mushroom sales, it's also the time when mushroom growers experience soaring electric bills because of the need to run air conditioning units and heating units at the same time, Mr. Basciani said.
Mr. Basciani said that the trend for retail chains will be to go toward "everyday low prices, which is an advantage to the store and the farmer.
