Phillips Mushroom Farms heads to OPS to highlight recent expansion

Phillips Mushroom Farms offers a wide array of mushrooms — from conventional whites to organic portabella, and specialty mushrooms like Maitake, Lion’s Mane and Shiitake.

The Kennett Square, PA-based company, which has been growing mushrooms since 1927, also features customized retail packs, bulk sale assortments, foodservice packs and private label packages. As the company enters July, it’s seen some positive trends for 2022.

“We’re seeing an increased demand in foodservice this year; it seems people are out travelling and eating out at restaurants, so that’s a great rebound after the last couple of years,” said Sean Steller, director of business development for the company. “We’re also seeing increasing demand for organics. That trend is continuing and we’ve seen great growth in the organic category.”

With that in mind, the company is continuing to expand its organic production to meet that demand and recently opened a new, 250,000-square-foot state-of-the-art farm in Pennsylvania to help support the growth it’s seen — especially in the organic category.

“We’re heavily focused on building state-of-the-art, aluminum shelves, and the facility is focused on food safety and mushroom quality,” Steller said. “They are bright and open and great working environments for our employees.”

The company has been working with organic mushrooms since 2005 and has seen the demand for them grow annually. This month, Steller will be headed to the Organic Produce Summit, showcasing all eight of Phillips Mushroom Farms’ organic varieties. There will be several different sizes and different sliced packages that have done well.

“This is an important show because it highlights the organic focus on mushrooms and we are seeing more people looking for organic options on the shelf,” Steller said. “It’s important to not have the distraction of the conventional items and other products. This show helps the buyers focus in on the organic options.”

Sliced packaging on the organic side has been one of the latest trends, though Steller noted it’s always been popular on the conventional side. “Now that there’s enough demand for organic mushrooms, we’ve been able to expand to sliced organic products,” Steller said. “There’s been some interest in larger organic packages, but we haven’t seen that really catch on yet with organics.”

Operating in “The Mushroom Capital of the World,” has helped drive the company to being one of the biggest suppliers of mushrooms in the country.

“Today’s consumers are looking for new items such as Maitake and Oyster mushrooms, beyond the traditional White or Baby Bella items,” Stellar said. “We are excited to help fuel the continued growth of mushroom consumption, on restaurant menus as well as in kitchens.”