Mother Earth builds on its name in organic mushrooms

Mother Earth is primed for success in the new year.

“We launched some new items, which is a good thing,” said Mark Kreiner, outside sales coordinator for the Landenberg, PA-based company. “We continue to reinvent ourselves and we look to create items where consumers have needs and wants.”

A leader in the organic category, the company is especially excited about its various powdered Lion’s Mane SKUs, as well as its Mother’s Harvest brand, which offers a mix of exotic organic mushrooms.

“We launched Mother’s Harvest because of the upswell in demand from consumers for more exotic mushrooms outside of the standard conventional whites, browns and Portabellas,” Kreiner said. “The Mother’s Harvest has Lion’s Mane, Royal Trumpet, Maitake and Oyster. Those are items that were in the past considered niche, but have become more mainstream over the last couple of years.”

He added that the company is looking forward to pursuing some exciting new opportunities in 2023.

“We’re always exploring new packaging opportunities,” he said. “We’re looking at continuous improvement in our operations, our farming, etc. We’re always trying to stay ahead of the curve as demand increases and labor decreases.”

Mother Earth also grows conventional mushrooms, which makes it a full-stop shop for its customers, but its heritage and legacy is in organic mushrooms.

“We’re getting a lot of knocks on the door and phone calls from potential customers about supply,” Kreiner said. “As their organic mushroom volume grows, they’re looking to establish relationships that can provide year-long, consistent quality and supply of mushrooms.”

Another positive development for the company is that the demand for organic is slowly meeting the demand for conventional.

“I think the pandemic was a big spur as consumers looked to eat healthier diets, less processed, more cleaner products,” Kreiner said. “Organics hit that sweet spot and I believe that effect still is there and will continue to the next year. So, we’re trying to be as best-prepared as possible as we feel demand is going to increase again next year. We’re strategically planning to respond and meet those needs as we plan out our beds and lay out our strategic promotional strategies for the upcoming new year.”

Also key to the growth of organic, Kreiner said, is that there is a whole generation of Americans who grew up consuming organic foods.

“They’re not niche anymore,” he said. “They’re more mainstream. Pricing has become less of a gap, so they’re more in line with conventional. They’re still higher-priced, but that pricing gap isn’t as great as it once was. As children grew up eating organics, it became part and parcel of their lifestyles and they continue into their teens and adulthood consuming organics.”

As a fifth-generation-owned family farm, Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms has a long legacy in organic mushrooms that has earned the company a great deal of respect.

“I think that means a lot when prospective customers come to us — our name means something,” Kreiner said. “It has the heritage of organic farming — we’re in the mushroom piece of it but overall, in organic and in agriculture, I think our company is respected and sought out in the industry. That’s something that our owners are proud of and they earn that every day.”