The increased demand for mushrooms is evident across many dining platforms today. Overall mushroom menu penetration is at an all-time high, reaching close to 85 percent, and is particularly strong in breakfast menus.

Pete Wilder, marketing director for To-Jo Mushroom Inc. in Avondale, PA, said the Mushroom Council’s promotion, The Blend, has really caught the attention of many operators and retailers helping to lift the category

“The movement toward ‘veg-centric’ is also helping the category as chefs look for ways to make vegetables the stars of their menu,” Wilder added. “Mushrooms bring natural umami to a dish and makes them craveable in the foodservice segment.”

To-Jo was recently certified U.S. Department of Agriculture-Organic and has begun offering its customers both white and brown organic varieties in a range of pack of sizes.

“The organic market continues to grow and is an area where we see emerging growth will occur over the next few years,” said Wilder.

To-Jo is always looking to provide its partners with opportunities to demo its products and to cross-promote mushrooms with other items in the produce aisle.

“One area which lends itself well to cross-promotion is the process of blending meat with mushrooms,” explained Wilder. “The Blend is being heavily promoted by the Mushroom Council and has really opened doors across the retail and foodservice segments. It allows retailers to provide consumers with a better tasting, more flavorful, lower calorie burger at a reduced cost as part of their prepared food or deli programs.”

To-Jo continues to see strong growth in the brown mushroom category, and particularly in its eight-ounce Sliced Baby Bellas and eight-ounce Portabella Sliders, Wilder went on to say.

“We will be promoting the brown category with many of our partners during National Mushroom Month to help extend interest during the tail-end of the summer grilling season,” said Wilder. “Planning for the strong holiday demand has already begun in our growing division, and advance promotional programs are being finalized with our largest retailers to gear up for the busiest time in our industry.”

Specialty mushrooms are seeing continued lift in both foodservice and retail as consumers become acquainted with some upscale varieties such as Oyster, Royal Trumpet and Shiitake mushrooms, he said.

“This is being driven by progressive menu planning around mushrooms in the foodservice segment as millennial consumers become more adventurous and look for added-value and more flavor when they go out to dinner,” Wilder pointed out. “We also recently launched a Foraged Fresh program which offers seasonal wild mushrooms to our customers on a weekly basis based on availability. Our team sources only the freshest, highest quality products from across the globe.”

Wilder said value-added mushroom offerings have been a very hot trend for a number of years as the demand for convenience continues to grow among a younger consumer set.

“To-Jo’s value-added lineup has increased every year and includes a variety of fully prepared or chopped mushroom options in three- and five-pound pack sizes for foodservice,” said Wilder. “Our new 10-ounce Stuffed Portabella Caps or seven-ounce Microwaveable Mushrooms for retail fit perfectly into this category.”