MushroomCouncil.org: 2008 April

April 2008 Industry News

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

January 2008 total shipments based on Council assessment reports were up nearly 2% vs. the same month last year; a new record high for January. Current Charts

Domestic shipment figures in the first month of the year were just below the same month in 2007.

COUNCIL UPDATE

As a reminder, a call for nominations has been issued for terms running from January 1, 2009 – December 31, 2011 for Regions 1, 2 and 5. If you produce over 500,000 pounds on average annually and would like another copy of the ballot please contact the Council office. Nominations are due by EOD on May 1st.

We have reprinted the Foodservice brochure and by reducing the cardstock we were able to bring the price down to .32 each. If you would like to order this brochure, contact Cheryl at the Council office.

Early this month Council Chairperson Carla McKinney and I attended our annual meeting with the Council’s Research Advisory Panel (RAP). When I meet with the RAP, I’m reminded how privileged the Council is to have access to these highly respected authorities in nutrition. Our meeting was productive and covered several issues in addition to Council-funded research projects. During our discussions about vitamin D enriched mushrooms, we asked the panel what level of vitamin D they think would be appropriate for mushrooms enhanced with UVB light. Their suggestion was to offer between 50-100% of the current Daily Value, or 200-400 international units (IU) per serving of mushrooms. We wanted to share this information with the entire industry right away. We hope this input is helpful to those of you working on vitamin D enriched mushrooms for the marketplace.

For those wondering about the potential market for mushrooms enriched with vitamin D sun-exposure, please visit the www.mushroomcouncil.org Consumer Research page to see the three reports from Dr. John Stanton’s Purchase Trigger Concept Test. In particular, note the sales estimate document. Back in 2004, even before the current hype about D, this was a highly rated consumer promotion hook with strong sales potential. In addition, the following link describes growth in D sales in the UK following the release of recent D research suggesting more is better; http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=64839-vitamin-d-supplements-cereals. And finally, the following “blog” sheds more light on the supplement and nutrients market, and vitamin D in particular; there is growing awareness of the “need” for vitamin D in all of our diets, and how hard it is to get it. Nothing is a more powerful motivator to purchase than need. http://www.knowledgeofhealth.com/blog/2008/03/dietary-supplements-so-promising-so.html. Another interesting article entitled Mushrooms Soar in Vitamin D when Exposed to UV Rays was featured recently in the LA Times.

Want to know HOW TO PRODUCE MUSHROOMS ENRICHED WITH VITAMIN D SUN-EXPOSURE? Might want to attend the Pennsylvania State University Mushroom "short-course" this year being held from June 8 - 10. Not only is it the 50th, and thus bound to have some "gala" associated with it, but Guelph Food Technology Center (GFTC) will be presenting the results of their research into how to activate D in mushrooms and how this process impacts shelf-life, color, microbial counts, retention of D and other important factors you have all been asking about. In addition, Dr. Bob Beelman will also be talking about the research project he has begun, with results to date as well. According to the folks from GFTC, their report alone will be enough to get you started. The above mentioned is scheduled on June 8th; see details below.

MARKETING SUMMARY

March impressions review:

Mushroom Council placements for March totaled 55 percent of all mushroom placements, which is within the norm of 33 to 75 percent during a period of proactive outreach
Consumer/Nutrition media coverage has totaled 185 million impressions to date (124% of the first quarter goal)
Foodservice coverage totals 732,262 impressions (27% of the annual goal)
Retail coverage included 10 placements (29% of the annual goal)
Vitamin D was mentioned in 64% of Mushroom Council media stories from January-March, making it the number one key message promoted to date
Most popular consumer recipe was “Mushroom Edamame and Salmon Penne”
90% of Foodservice placements are a direct result of IFEC
30% of Foodservice placements promoted a health message; Umami, lower sodium, vitamin D
In the first full month of MyRecipes.com and eGullet.com online advertising, MyRecipes.com had a 20% increase in mushroom recipe searches; banner ads on eGullet.com received nearly 400,000 impressions, which sparked conversations about mushrooms with influencers
Consumer e-blast was distributed to 13,000 consumers

The Council will soon be announcing the Weight Watcher’s partnership, to retailers and the trade press. Once the announcement is ready it will be posted on our website under the Resources tab. Feel free to send the release to your own customers as well.

A new retail newsletter will be ready shortly for you to use with your accounts. Once it is ready it will be posted to our website under the Resources tab. We shall distribute it to our retail list as well.

The Council also has a new foodservice newsletter for your review and use. Click here to go to our website and view the newsletter. It can be found on our website under the Resources tab if you wish to download a printable copy. We shall distribute this to our foodservice list shortly.

On the foodservice promotion front the Council has recently submitted new mushroom menu concepts to IHOP, and is meeting with Moe’s Southwest Grill and the Season’s 52 chain (a Darden concept) this April.

For more on the status of Council promotional pursuits click here. To see new mushroom menu items for March click here.

As reported last month, if you were not able to join us for the February 12th Webcast you can see the latest Flash Report that was presented by clicking here.

Supermarket sales reports from IRI scanner data are created each month and following each quarter and are posted online via the COGNOS online reporting system. If you do not have your access code and password yet, or forgot the one issued to you, please contact Cheryl to retrieve. February reportedly posted a modest gain in pounds of just under ½ of 1%, while retail prices continue to go up, increasing over 2% on average to break the $4.00 per pound average price barrier again in 2008. Click here for the rest of the story, and again, contact Cheryl to run your own detailed reports.