Mushroom Council partners with Allrecipes to further appeal of mushrooms

Fresh mushrooms are the answer to so many consumer needs — from nutrition to flavor to making more sustainable choices to extending their grocery dollars. The Mushroom Council is tasked with helping the mushroom category grow.

The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market producers and importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad.

“Throughout the year, we conduct a wide array of timely promotions to ensure consumers are able to make that connection and continue to add more mushrooms to their weekly grocery purchases,” said Eric Davis, spokesperson for the Mushroom Council.

In 2023, the council began the year by showcasing to shoppers the role mushrooms play in supporting immune health.

“During peak cold and flu season, our ‘Feed Your Immune System’ campaign connected with consumers via digital ads, recipes, videos, social media promotions, influencer collaborations, paid search ads and media outreach,” Davis said. “Our online promotions reached consumers 10 million times and media coverage included placements in outlets like Real Simple and Clean Plates as well as dietitian appearances on regional TV stations in markets such as Los Angeles and Denver.”

Then in April, which is Earth Month, the council promoted mushrooms’ role as an Earth-friendly ingredient that requires minimal resources to grow.

“Our ‘The Official Ingredient of Earth Month’ campaign featured a continued partnership with Kittch, a chef streaming service which brought renowned chefs into consumers’ homes digitally, with livestream cooking demonstrations featuring mushrooms as the center ingredient,” Davis said. “While cooking, the chefs shared their passion for mushrooms and touted mushroom sustainability facts.”

This summer, the Mushroom Council will once again turn to promoting blending mushrooms with meat for dishes that are more delicious, nutritious and sustainable.

“This year, we are partnering with Allrecipes, which is the nation’s most widely read and viewed recipe-focused media outlet, reaching consumers 60 million times each year,” Davis said. “Beginning this May, the Mushroom Council and Allrecipes are collaborating for their first-ever ‘Mix it Up with Mushrooms’ promotion, a multimedia campaign encouraging grocery shoppers to buy more mushrooms to blend into classic ground meat recipes for dishes that are more nutritious, delicious and sustainable.”

The 2023 Allrecipes partnership includes the ‘Mix it Up with Mushrooms’ competition. While past Mushroom Council blending promotions have focused primarily on the burger, this year’s recipe contest will go beyond the burger to also include any type of blended recipe, from tacos to pasta sauces and more.

Throughout the partnership, the Mushroom Council is sharing blended inspiration via recipes and videos on social media, all showcasing why mushrooms add flavor, veggies and an earth-friendly ingredient to your meat dish. It’s also doing digital ads and print ads.

Anne-Marie Roerink, analyst and leader of 210 Analytics noted this is the right campaign for the right moment.

“This campaign seems like a slam dunk to me as it solves a big need for inflationary-minded shoppers who still want great tasting and nutritious meals,” she said. “Inflation is real and taking a substantial bite out of most people’s paychecks. A good deal at the grocery store may get you to buy an item once, but to buy something again, it has to taste good. And that’s why The Blend is so timely. It addresses both affordability by helping stretch the meat dollar, and it also tastes great and raises the nutritional profile.”