Like many other retail produce department items, fresh mushroom sales registered growth during the onset of the pandemic, though that positive result was very much tempered by the foodservice shutdown as that represented a significant decline in sales for the category.

To explain the company’s aggressive business model, Basciani Foods Chief Financial Officer Joe Basciani repeats the business philosophy drilled into him by his father and grandfather when they ran the multi-generational family business: Keep moving forward, build more, always re-invest.

Since 2021, Buona Foods has increased its mushroom growing capacity by 25 percent, and according to Sales and Account Manager Chris Johansen, the company plans “to continue this growth cycle into the near future. Part of our ongoing growth is the construction of additional houses at our three existing farms.”

No later than next month, the Caputo & Guest brand of exotic mushrooms will be featured in many retail produce departments for the first time, though neither the name nor the mushrooms are new to the industry.

The Mushroom Council and The Culinary Institute of America recently launched “Mushrooms in the Plant-Forward Kitchen,” an educational video series spotlighting to chefs the many ways to incorporate mushrooms into globally-inspired, plant-forward cooking.

In January, Mother Earth Mushrooms introduced a new exotic retail blend of mushroom varieties and in July it began exploring the concept of producing organic dried mushrooms and powders for the organic community.