August 2008 Industry News

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

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

COUNCIL UPDATE

Next Council meeting: September 11^th in Washington, D.C.
Weight Watchers labels must be phased out by September 30^th and BestLife labels by December 31^st
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service formally published the interim final rule for mandatory country of origin labeling. The interim final rule contains definitions, the requirements for consumer notification and product marking, and the recordkeeping responsibilities of both retailers and suppliers. COOL regulations go into effect on September 30^th.
- Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has written an analysis of the regulation; click here to go to the PMA website to view this analysis.
- United Fresh Produce has also released an analysis of the regulation entitled “What you need to know about Complying with Country of Origin Labeling Rule” click here to download a copy.
- Webcasts were held by both United Fresh and PMA on COOL regulations.
  - The United Fresh Webcast presentation can be viewed by clicking here (available until November 8^th). You can also click here to download the power point presentation only.
  - The PMA Webcast presentation can be viewed by clicking here.

Last year, The Produce for Better Health Foundation launched the new brand, Fruits & Veggies-More Matters®, which replaces the 5 A Day program. Licensees are encouraged to transition to the Fruits & Veggies-More Matters logo as soon as possible and will be expected to phase out all 5 A Day The Color Way and 5 to 9 A Day logos and related health marketing messages by January 1, 2009. The Mushroom Council is a member of the Board of Directors of the Produce for Better Health Foundation.

New postings to www.mushroomcouncil.org include:
- Nutrition Labeling Toolkit – updated August 2008

MARKETING SUMMARY

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS/PLACEMENTS TO DATE:

June impressions overview:

In July, Mushroom Council placements represented an average of 78 percent of total mushroom news, which is above the norm of 33 to 75 percent during a period of proactive outreach. There were 61 placements as a result of the Weight Watchers matte release highlighting mushrooms as the “Pick of the Season,” including Forbes, Reuters, the Houston Chronicle and the Denver Post.

The Weight Watchers Pick of the Season partnership is well underway. In-store advertising kicked-off July 1 with radio spots and August 11 with shelf-talkers in stores across the nation. In July, Weight Watchers distributed a matte release highlighting mushrooms as the official Pick of the Season to thousands of editors across the United States. The matte release has already received 61 placements, reaching an audience of over 7 million to date. Weight Watchers headquarters included instructions to meeting leaders in their newsletter on educating members about mushrooms’ key nutritional benefits. Meeting leaders distributed 1 million recipe cards to members. Finally, the Mushroom Council distributed two press releases to trade media. In July, there were two Mushroom Council placements in The Packer as a result of media outreach.

Mushrooms’ vitamin D availability was highlighted in The Dallas Morning News article, “Don't run from the sun's vitamin D benefits, experts say” and as a possible hidden treasure for meeting vitamin D needs in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association’s newsletter. Additionally, the American Dietetic Association’s newsletter said that the mushrooms reputation as a nutritional lightweight is beginning to change.

Web traffic update: In June, there was a decrease in web traffic. Mushroominfo.com had a 32 percent decrease and mushroomcouncil.org had a 23 percent decrease of visitors in the month of June. This could be due to the fact that generally fewer people are online during the summer months and media efforts tapered in the month of June. As we continue tracking the Hispanic site we found it interesting that the recipe finder was the third most popular URL, second to how mushrooms were grown and the homepage. To see a detailed review of the Council’s comprehensive web traffic report click here.

On the Foodservice front:

The Council created and distributed the second quarterly 2008 Foodservice Newsletter to almost 600 foodservice professionals in July. The newsletter features information on how mushrooms can help operators navigate the turbulent economy, the secret to supporting higher price points with menu descriptions, mushroom versatility on display on chain menus and more. To view and download a copy of the newsletter, click here.

The Mushroom Council is about to embark upon the first Chef Advisory Panel Summit that will take place in New York City August 13-15. During the Summit, a select group of influential chefs from across the country and different segments of the industry will engage in lively discussion about mushrooms and the menu. Chef attendees include: Bob Okura (Cheesecake Factory), Robin Stotter (PF Changs), Alex Guarnaschelli (Butter, NYC), Martin Breslin (Harvard Dining Services), Monica Pope (t’afia, Houston) and Guillermo Pernot (Cuba Libre).

The Council is currently negotiating a promotional opportunity with a network of Applebees franchisee groups. Together, the groups account for nearly 400 units in the 1600 unit chain, spanning a dozen states. With Council support, these restaurants will run a server incentive contest for selling mushroom "toppers" on steaks and other mushroom items during the month of November, using Council-supplied messages to sell in mushrooms. We estimate this program will directly reach 6.4 million consumers.

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

On the Retail front: