Mushrooms riding wave of popularity
Mushrooms riding wave of popularity
With people getting ready to fire up their grills during the summer barbecue season, mushroom producers are preparing for the spike in popularity of their already-popular products that comes during this time of year. In preparation, some of the top marketers are launching new varieties and products that they hope will help increase their own sales as well as lift the category as a whole. What is good for one competitor is good for the whole mushroom category, according to Joe Caldwell, vice president of Watsonville, CA-based Monterey Mushrooms. An industry leader, Monterey extends itself to competitors in the belief that a rising tide lifts all boats.
Monterey Mushrooms works with grower-shippers as a co- producer, providing mushroom spawns and various grower services to help provide good quality and consistent yields. Quality and consistency benefit the industry as a whole, Mr. Caldwell said. Several mushroom producers have been innovative, and the outlook for the category "is the best we've ever seen," Mr. Caldwell said. The whole industry looks at what competitors are doing, he said, pointing to Sebastopol, CA-based Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. as an innovator of note.
Monterey Mushrooms can take a sizable share of the credit for mushrooms' gaining popularity from its past efforts. And it may have hit on a winner with a brand new strain of Portabella mushroom that has been in development for the past two years and that it has patented and trademarked. The product - "Grill-A- Bella" - is significantly thicker and meatier with better flavor, Mr. Caldwell said. It packs in an earth-friendly, biodegradable corrugated tray for a "really nice-looking package," Mr. Caldwell said.
Customer response has been strong, and Monterey Mushrooms has a lot of promotions scheduled for the summer, including for Memorial Day grilling, Mr. Caldwell said.
" 'Grill-A-Bella' serves as an entr?e in itself," Mr. Caldwell said. Monterey Mushrooms provides numerous recipes, photos and signs to its customers as marketing tools to help further boost sales.
There has been a "tremendous" amount of interest in the nutritional properties of mushrooms, Mr. Caldwell said. "There's no fat, no cholesterol, no carbs. Interest now is on antioxidants, vitamin D, folic acid and niacin."
The Food & Drug Administration is sponsoring research at "two to three times" the level of past research on mushrooms, Mr. Caldwell said. The Washington, DC-based Mushroom Council is on top of the FDA research, said Mr. Caldwell, adding that he's chairman of the council's marketing committee.
The council expects to kick-off a promotional program in early June, he said. It resumed national promotions in January and functions similarly to all promotional boards in its efforts to lift the industry as a whole and not promote specific companies or brands.
Whites and brown mushrooms make up 97 percent of the total market, all cultivated commercially, Mr. Caldwell said. "Cultivated mushrooms in the United States have as many regulations as anything around," Mr. Caldwell said, emphasizing the relative safety of eating mushrooms.
Demographically, Asians and Europeans are the heaviest users of mushrooms, Mr. Caldwell said, while Latinos are becoming heavier users.
Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. is doing its part to further sales in the mushroom category with its lineup of specialty mushrooms. Bob Engel, the company's chef liaison and director of marketing, likens specialty mushrooms to the evolution in popularity of lettuces and greens such as frisee, arugula and tat soy that have gained a foothold in the marketplace.
The specialty mushroom niche is evolving with the efforts of Gourmet Mushrooms and others. "Portabellas and Shiitakes pried [consumers] away from white button mushrooms," Mr. Engel said. "It's a story of variety."
Gourmet Mushrooms has begun shipping its organic "Mycopia" brand specialty mushrooms to Whole Foods Markets' Midwest region. Recent increases in production at Gourmet Mushrooms' two farms in Sonoma County, CA, have allowed significant expansion into retail sales.
The first multi-store customer for the "Mycopia" brand was Whole Foods' Northern California region. Gourmet Mushrooms' exotic varieties can also be found in a number of independent stores, the New Seasons chain in Oregon, select Costco warehouses in the San Francisco Bay area and select Raley's stores in Northern California.
When it began in 1977, Gourmet Mushrooms shipped directly to chefs almost exclusively. A second stage of expansion in the 1990s saw increased relationships with regional and national specialty foodservice distributors.
When Gourmet Mushrooms received its organic certification four years ago, the retail segment of its business represented less than 2 percent of its total volume shipped. Overall, retail now makes up more than 15 percent of Gourmet Mushroom's business, Mr. Engel said.
"Organic certification was the key," he said. "New specialty varieties thrive where there is significant overlap between natural foods and gourmet foods."
The latest mushroom to be added to Gourmet's "Mycopia" line is the Velvet Pioppini, which has a very deep flavor, Mr. Engel said. He touts Gourmet's Trumpet Royale mushroom -- which is in the King Oyster family -- as a "great barbecuing mushroom."
Mr. Engel will speak on new trends in exotic mushrooms at the Fresh Produce Academy at the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice Conference in July in Monterey, CA.
Monterey Mushrooms works with grower-shippers as a co- producer, providing mushroom spawns and various grower services to help provide good quality and consistent yields. Quality and consistency benefit the industry as a whole, Mr. Caldwell said. Several mushroom producers have been innovative, and the outlook for the category "is the best we've ever seen," Mr. Caldwell said. The whole industry looks at what competitors are doing, he said, pointing to Sebastopol, CA-based Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. as an innovator of note.
Monterey Mushrooms can take a sizable share of the credit for mushrooms' gaining popularity from its past efforts. And it may have hit on a winner with a brand new strain of Portabella mushroom that has been in development for the past two years and that it has patented and trademarked. The product - "Grill-A- Bella" - is significantly thicker and meatier with better flavor, Mr. Caldwell said. It packs in an earth-friendly, biodegradable corrugated tray for a "really nice-looking package," Mr. Caldwell said.
Customer response has been strong, and Monterey Mushrooms has a lot of promotions scheduled for the summer, including for Memorial Day grilling, Mr. Caldwell said.
" 'Grill-A-Bella' serves as an entr?e in itself," Mr. Caldwell said. Monterey Mushrooms provides numerous recipes, photos and signs to its customers as marketing tools to help further boost sales.
There has been a "tremendous" amount of interest in the nutritional properties of mushrooms, Mr. Caldwell said. "There's no fat, no cholesterol, no carbs. Interest now is on antioxidants, vitamin D, folic acid and niacin."
The Food & Drug Administration is sponsoring research at "two to three times" the level of past research on mushrooms, Mr. Caldwell said. The Washington, DC-based Mushroom Council is on top of the FDA research, said Mr. Caldwell, adding that he's chairman of the council's marketing committee.
The council expects to kick-off a promotional program in early June, he said. It resumed national promotions in January and functions similarly to all promotional boards in its efforts to lift the industry as a whole and not promote specific companies or brands.
Whites and brown mushrooms make up 97 percent of the total market, all cultivated commercially, Mr. Caldwell said. "Cultivated mushrooms in the United States have as many regulations as anything around," Mr. Caldwell said, emphasizing the relative safety of eating mushrooms.
Demographically, Asians and Europeans are the heaviest users of mushrooms, Mr. Caldwell said, while Latinos are becoming heavier users.
Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. is doing its part to further sales in the mushroom category with its lineup of specialty mushrooms. Bob Engel, the company's chef liaison and director of marketing, likens specialty mushrooms to the evolution in popularity of lettuces and greens such as frisee, arugula and tat soy that have gained a foothold in the marketplace.
The specialty mushroom niche is evolving with the efforts of Gourmet Mushrooms and others. "Portabellas and Shiitakes pried [consumers] away from white button mushrooms," Mr. Engel said. "It's a story of variety."
Gourmet Mushrooms has begun shipping its organic "Mycopia" brand specialty mushrooms to Whole Foods Markets' Midwest region. Recent increases in production at Gourmet Mushrooms' two farms in Sonoma County, CA, have allowed significant expansion into retail sales.
The first multi-store customer for the "Mycopia" brand was Whole Foods' Northern California region. Gourmet Mushrooms' exotic varieties can also be found in a number of independent stores, the New Seasons chain in Oregon, select Costco warehouses in the San Francisco Bay area and select Raley's stores in Northern California.
When it began in 1977, Gourmet Mushrooms shipped directly to chefs almost exclusively. A second stage of expansion in the 1990s saw increased relationships with regional and national specialty foodservice distributors.
When Gourmet Mushrooms received its organic certification four years ago, the retail segment of its business represented less than 2 percent of its total volume shipped. Overall, retail now makes up more than 15 percent of Gourmet Mushroom's business, Mr. Engel said.
"Organic certification was the key," he said. "New specialty varieties thrive where there is significant overlap between natural foods and gourmet foods."
The latest mushroom to be added to Gourmet's "Mycopia" line is the Velvet Pioppini, which has a very deep flavor, Mr. Engel said. He touts Gourmet's Trumpet Royale mushroom -- which is in the King Oyster family -- as a "great barbecuing mushroom."
Mr. Engel will speak on new trends in exotic mushrooms at the Fresh Produce Academy at the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice Conference in July in Monterey, CA.
