Fresh Food
Produce Category Spotlight
as well as the fact that mushrooms contribute to all meal dayparts — breakfast, lunch and dinner” — have put this nutrient-rich produce item in more and more shopping baskets, she points out. “Te white button mushroom is still the leader in sales in the mushroom category, but the specialty mushrooms are gaining a lot of momentum, which we think is due to all of the cooking shows on TV,” says Phillips Gourmet’s Angelucci. “Everyone wants to be a gourmet chef, and mushrooms like portabella, baby bella and shiitake ft right into their meal preparation.”
Courtesy of the MushrooM CounCiL
“Consumers are doing their homework to constantly search for healthy products.” —Bill Litvin, Giorgio Fresh Co.
will showcase mushroom blendability in its housemade meatloaf, made fresh each day. Down the road, Murphy envisions making the blendability campaign available to all grocers, even those without on-site chefs. “Another phase will be kits,” he explains. Tis will allow retailers to provide customers with the opportunity to create a freshly prepared meal featuring a blend of ground beef and mushrooms at home in minutes. Te Mushroom Council campaign will be supported by retailer-targeted POS, as well as consumer outreach. “Social media will certainly play a big role in these promotions,” says Preis. “We’ll also use geographic targeting, by inviting local customers to come to Raley’s, for example, when we’re sampling blended burgers at a particular store.” A new microsite, featuring blendability recipes, marketing materials and more, will become accessible from the Mushroom Council website in 2015.
The Boom in ’Shrooms Mushroom sales of all types are on the rise. According to the Mushroom Council, brown mushrooms were up 7.1 percent for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 7, 2014, specialty mushrooms were up 10.5 percent for the same time period, and white mushrooms — the longtime category leader — registered steady 0.3 percent growth. Te most encouraging aspect of this trend, according to Preis, is that increased sales of brown and specialty mushrooms haven’t negatively impacted sales of the category leader. “Tey aren’t cannibalizing sales from white mushrooms,” she notes. True growth in the mushroom category is the result of several factors, continues Preis. “Mushroom Council promotions, greater consumer awareness about the culinary and health benefts of mushrooms,
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| Progressive Grocer | Ahead of What’s Next | December 2014
Flavor and Nutrition “One of the points we want to get across with blendability is that mushrooms are not a fller. Tey’re a gourmet item that enhances the favor,” Premier’s Murphy asserts. “It’s like people who love garlic adding garlic to their favorite dish.” While the new blendability campaign spotlights the culinary benefts of adding mushrooms to ground beef, such as favor, moisture and overall texture, the nutritional benefts are equally compelling. Cutting fat, cholesterol and calories is enticing to many consumers, as are favor and convenience. “As we get more information out about how easy it is to incorporate mushrooms into diets, mushrooms for the frst time have moved form side dish to center plate,” Murphy says. “People are using mushrooms like portabellas in place of hamburgers for Meatless Mondays, or cutting them like steak. It’s the versatility of mushrooms that has them being used more and more every day.” Angelucci agrees: “Today’s consumer is very healthconscious. Mushrooms ft right into a healthy diet by being low in calories, fat-free and cholesterol-free, not to mention having antioxidants and vitamins to help maintain the immune system and provide energy.” Sustainability When it comes to the hottest trends in mushrooms, Bill Litvin, SVP of sales and the national account manager for Temple, Pa.-based Giorgio Fresh Co., says organic and sustainable continue to tick consumers’ boxes and top shopping lists. “Consumers are doing their homework to constantly search for healthy products,” Litvin says. “Tey are also increasingly cognizant to purchase products from retailers or companies like Giorgio who make sustainability practices a priority.” Giorgio grows its mushrooms in a fully organic substrate, and is invested in integrated pest management. Te company is equally focused on favor and convenience, having recently launched a line of Stufed Baby Bella Mushrooms with zesty fllings in three favors: Parmesan Cheese, Artichokes and Spinach; Cheese and Imitation Bacon Bits; and Imitation Flavored Crab. PG