Home

• Production
• Nutrition
• FoodService
• Retail
• Consumer Research
• Food Safety
• New Product Research
• Resources
• Recipes
• Care and Handling
  • Foodservice Care and Handling
  • Retail Care and Handling
  • Consumer Care and Handling
• About the Mushroom Council
  • Council Members
  • Regions
  • Press Releases
• Forms Commonly Used by the Industry
• USDA Reports
  • National Agriculture Statistics Service
  • All Mushroom Sales Virtually Unchanged, Value Down 1 Percent
  • Mushroom Per Capita Consumption
  • Food Consumption (Per Capita) Data System
  • USDA Nutrient Database
• Related Sites
  • American Mushroom Institute
  • Mycology Newsgroup Archive
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Mushroom Growers Information Site (PSU)
  • Mushroom Spawn Laboratory (PSU)

 

The Mushroom Council

Research and

Information Website

  

October 2008 Industry News

 

 

 

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

Mushroom Council First Handler Reports (millions of pounds; totals may not match due to rounding).
Current Charts

 

	July-08	July-07	% change	YTD 08	YTD 07	% change
Total Shipments	58.42	59.14	-1.22	438.33	439.51	-.27
Domestic Shipments	51.69	52.98	-2.44	389.31	392.53	-.78
PA	30.84	31.52	-2.14	224.95	226.34	-.62
CA	9.33	9.07	+.03	73.01	69.72	+4.72
Rest of US	11.51	12.39	-7.07	91.35	96.47	-5.3
Imports	6.73	6.16	+9.27	49.02	46.99	+4.33

  

 

COUNCIL UPDATE

 

• The Agriculture Secretary appointed three members to serve on the Mushroom Council serving 3-year terms beginning January 1, 2009 and ending December 31, 2011. The three appointed members are Greg McLain for region 1, Greg Sagan for region 2 and Hank Vander Pol for region 5. Click here to see the announcement. 

• Weight Watchers labels and recipe cards should have been phased out by now 

• While the Mushroom Council’s contract with The Best Life Diet technically ends on January 1, 2009, the Best Life representatives agreed to allow mushroom packages to carry the Best Life seal beyond the contract for free. In addition to the free logo rights on-pack, the Mushroom Council and mushroom recipes will continue to be featured in the upcoming reprinting of “The Best Life Diet” book. The Best Life representatives extended these privileges at no cost to show their gratitude for the two-year contract with the Mushroom Council.  

• For all you need to know about mushroom nutrition go to http://www.mushroomcouncil.com/nutrition/research.html where you will find the latest research, resources and newsletters. In addition, for brochures that highlight mushrooms nutrition information go to http://mushroomcouncil.org/Resources/ and look for “A Guide to Mushroom Nutrition” as well as the array of other consumer, retail and foodservice collateral pieces. For recipes go to http://mushroomcouncil.org/Recipes/ and http://www.mushroomcouncil.com/recipes/. 

• It is time to apply for 2009 assessment exemptions. Exemption applications can be downloaded from the website. Call Cheryl at the Council office with any questions or to obtain a copy of the application.

• New postings to www.mushroomcouncil.org include:
  • Light in Color / Dense in Nutrients (updated)
  • E-mazing News – Fall 2008
  • Retail Newsletter – Qtr 3
  • Mushroom Varieties Chart (updated)
  • NEW foodservice recipe brochure: Discover Mushrooms…the hidden treasure of the Mediterranean  

 

MARKETING SUMMARY

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS/PLACEMENTS TO DATE: 

 

September impressions overview:

 

Program	September 2008 Impressions	Total Year Impressions	% of Annual Goal	% of Last Year Same Time Period
Consumer/Nutrition	110,348,130	631,331,204	158%	133%
Foodservice	389,172	5,093,068	189%	215%
Retail	69,786	999,795	131%	67%

 

• In September, Mushroom Council placements represented an average of 71 percent of total mushroom news, which is within the norm of 33 to 75 percent during a period of proactive outreach. 

• National Mushroom Month experienced multiple media activities promoting Nature’s Hidden Treasure, which included: 

• Print and online coverage of the Weight Watchers partnership, totaled 44.5 million impressions in publications, such as The Philadelphia Sun, City Line News, Denver Post’s Web site, Supermarket News and The Packer.

• Mushroom Festival coverage continued through the rest of September, totaling nearly 20 placements and 1.5 million impressions in broadcast coverage, such as WPVI-TV (ABC 6), and print publications, including City Line News and the New Castle News Journal.  

• The Mario Batali color food page, released in July, reached an additional 13 papers in September, resulting in a total of 73 placements in 34 states, with nearly 15 million impressions.
• Mushroom Council-funded research on mushrooms and weight loss by Dr. Cheskin was highlighted in 12 placements during September generating nearly 20 million impressions. Placements included the Good Housekeeping and Phil Lempert’s Newsletter.
• Mushroom Council-funded research by Dr. Wu’s at Tufts University was highlighted in Chatelaine, a Canadian-based magazine, generating more than 2 million impressions.

• Online advertising on www.MyRecipes.com, resulted in a 60 percent increase in mushroom recipe downloads during National Mushroom Month. The banner ads highlighted mushrooms’ 0 fat, 20 calories, versatility, taste and natural vitamin D. These ads were also highlighted on WeightWatchers.com and e-Gullet.org. 

• The Weight Watchers “Pick of the Season” partnership concluded September 30. In addition to print and online media coverage, the following additional activities are a result from the July-September partnership: 

• In-Store Advertising: Three months of in-store advertising, both radio and shelf-talkers, reached millions of Americans. Results will be shared in early 2009.

• Weight Watchers Newsletter: Distributed an article in the Weight Watchers newsletter to 18,000 meeting room staff members.

• Recipe Cards: Produced and distributed 1 million mushroom recipe cards for Weight Watchers members.

• Mushroom Festival Support: Hosted a booth at the 23rd Mushroom Festival with Weight Watchers representatives in the “MushRoom” to educate festival attendees about mushrooms as the “Pick of the Season.” 

• WeightWatchers.com: Sponsored Mushroom Council banner ads on the food and recipe pages on Weight Watchers.com during the month of September.

On the Foodservice front: 

• At the end of October, the Council’s latest foodservice collateral piece will be printed and made available to the industry. Titled “Discover Mushrooms…the hidden treasure of the Mediterranean,” the piece highlights mushrooms’ authentic role in the hottest cuisines from around the Mediterranean. It will debut at the annual “Worlds of Flavor” culinary event at the Culinary Institute of America’s Napa campus, which has a Mediterranean theme, and at the American Dietetic Association’s annual conference in Chicago. To download a pdf of the collateral, click here.

• Starting November 3rd, 378 franchised Applebee’s locations across the country will kick off a “Make Room for ‘Shrooms” promotion and server incentive contest. Wait staff who sell the most mushroom items in each store during the month of November will win American Express gift cards. In addition to the server incentive contest, some stores are featuring table-top cards funded by Kraft Foods to further promote mushrooms as a steak topper. The Council is providing the gift cards and a tip sheet for servers to help them sell in more mushrooms. Be sure to visit your local Applebee’s in November and check out the incentive program in action.

• Meanwhile, another Council-funded promotional effort is underway at Burger King Restaurants nationwide. For a limited time, a new “Mushroom & Swiss Steakhouse Burger” is available, and is supported by a national TV and radio ad campaign. If this item sells well, it has the chance to become a permanent menu item – so please go out and try one, and encourage your family and friends to do the same!

• For more on the status of the Council’s foodservice promotional pursuits click here; to see new mushroom menu items for September click here.

 

On the Retail front:

 

4 weeks ending August 24, 2008

Pounds as values	Last 4 Wks, Prior Yr	Last 4 Wks, Curr Yr	Last 4 Wks Chg, Yr-to-Yr	Last 4 Wks % Chg, Yr-to-Yr
California	1,656,882	1,754,681	97,799	5.90%
Great Lakes	1,895,238	1,896,120	882	0.05%
Mid-south	1,155,309	1,183,142	27,833	2.41%
Mountain	909,398	899,442	-9,956	-1.09%
Northeast	2,619,135	2,858,726	239,592	9.15%
Pacific Northwest	610,080	614,941	4,861	0.80%
Plains	799,079	796,040	-3,039	-0.38%
South Central	888,407	851,482	-36,925	-4.16%
Southeast	1,849,285	1,857,590	8,306	0.45%
Total U.S.	12,382,812	12,712,165	329,353	2.66%
All Geographies	24,765,624	25,424,330	658,707	2.66%

 

 

This web site is paid for by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990. This act allows commercial producers of fresh mushrooms the right to orderly collect assessments on domestic and imported fresh mushrooms. These funds are then used for the purpose of strengthening the mushroom industry's position in the marketplace, maintaining and expanding existing markets for mushrooms, and developing new markets and uses for fresh mushrooms.