March 2010 Industry News

Mushrooms Lead the Way as Best Performing Vegetable in 2009

The mushroom category was one of the leading categories for produce sales growth during 2009. Dollar sales at supermarkets were up 6% compared to overall supermarket produce sales which were flat, while mushroom pounds were up 7.7% compared to total produce up 6.1%, according to FreshLook Marketing for period ending December 27, 2009. This continued growth propelled retail sales nationwide to nearly 800 million dollars for the year (and this doesn’t even count Club Stores or Supercenters!)
Of special note is that the mushroom industry saw record high sales in October 2009 – coinciding with the industry’s first-ever “pink” promotion for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month – with mushroom receipts having climbed 6.7 percent in dollar volume and 12.3 percent in pound volume. Consumers across America responded to this marketing effort by increasing purchases of both Brown and White mushroom with Browns increasing pounds 23% and Whites increasing 9%. Since the October 2009 promotion, mushrooms continue to grow above the annual rate as consumers have more knowledge of the role mushrooms can play in cancer research as well as their many other “Hidden Treasures.” Contact the Council at (408) 432-7210 or info@mushroomcouncil.org by Monday, April 12 to take advantage of this marketing effort and secure your participation in this year’s "pink" promotion.

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

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

Current Charts	Dec-09	Dec-08	% change	YTD 09	YTD 08	% change
Total Shipments	64.60	64.13	0.74*	709.40	736.55	-3.69
Domestic Shipments	56.64	56.40	0.44	624.32	653.37	-4.45
PA	32.91	32.47	1.36	370.92	379.06	-2.15
CA	10.33	10.29	0.37	111.65	121.68	-8.24
Rest of US	13.40	13.63	-1.69	141.75	152.62	-7.13
Imports	7.96	7.73	2.95	85.09	83.18	2.29

         * Please note that this month there was an increase of 0.74% over 2008 shipments. As this
           may not seem like much, it is the second month in 2009 that we saw an increase over
           2008. Hopefully this is the start of an upward trend for 2010!

COUNCIL UPDATE

The call for nominations for terms beginning January 1, 2011 for regions 1 (All states except for CA & PA), 2 (PA) and 3 (CA) have been mailed. Please turn in your nominations by May 3rd.
               The U. S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the Council, encourages all
               eligible producers including women, minorities and individuals with
               disabilities to participate in the nominations and seek nomination to serve
               on the Council.

At the February Council meeting Council positions were elected. Here are your Council representatives as well as their position on the Council:
               Region 1: Greg McLain – Chairperson & Fletcher Street – Treasurer
               Region 2: Jim Angelucci, Jim Howard, Kathi Lafferty and Greg Sagan
               Region 3: Joe Caldwell – V. Chair and Roberto Ramirez
               Region 4: Hank Vander Pol – Secretary

The next Council meeting will be held on May 20-21, 2010 in Chicago.

The Council has been working on Truck Panels for you to put on your trucks; click here to see the artwork; click here to see the style guide. The panels are almost ready and details about the truck panels and order sheets will be sent out soon to give everyone an opportunity to put their order in.

MARKETING SUMMARY

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS/PLACEMENTS TO DATE:

February impressions overview:

Program	February 2010 Impressions	% of February 2009 Impressions	Total Year Impressions to Date*	% of Annual Goal
Consumer/Nutrition	63,072,108	80%	177,178,470	32%
Foodservice	648,942	284%	1,212,607	32%
Retail	54,080	360%	607,393	36%

In February, the Mushroom Council had an average of 80 percent share of voice. While conducting proactive media outreach, we generally expect Mushroom Council coverage to represent between 33-75 percent of mushroom placements, according to average consumer product and commodity industry standards. Note that there are always external factors or industry forces that could change that metric.

Mushroom Share of Voice:

Week Ending	Mushroom Council Generated Placements	% of Total Mushroom Coverage**	Type of Outreach
February 6	6	86 percent	Proactive
February 13	13	81 percent	Proactive
February 20	5	71 percent	Proactive
February 27*	8	80 percent	Proactive
Total	32	80 percent	Proactive

*This week includes coverage from February 28 as well.

**This does not include mushroom recipe coverage that is not Council-generated.

Mushrooms Lead the Way as Best Performing Vegetable in 2009

The mushroom category was one of the leading categories for produce growth during 2009. Sales were up 6% compared to overall produce sales which were flat, while mushroom pounds were up 7.7% compared to total produce up 6.1%, according to FreshLook Marketing for period ending December 27, 2009. This continued growth propelled retail sales nationwide by nearly 800 million dollars for the year!

Mushrooms in the News and Online:

In February the Council’s media partners delivered strong results for mushrooms. Katherine Brooking, MS, RD participated in a satellite media tour to highlight February as American Heart Month. Brooking promoted mushrooms’ heart benefits, in particular highlighting their antioxidant content including selenium and ergothioneine. To read the script from the tour, click here. This tour reached 5.6 million viewers in key markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas.

Audiences across the nation were also informed of the many benefits of mushrooms thanks to media appearances by spokesperson Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN. In an appearance on the CBS “Early Show,” Glassman touted the selenium content of mushrooms and concluded for an audience of 7.7 million consumers that “all kinds of mushrooms have health benefits.” Glassman made a similar stop at the “700 Club” (1.9 million viewers) for an interview in which she noted that mushrooms are the only vegetable with vitamin D, recommended substituting portabellas for meat to save calories and pounds, and mentioned mushrooms are rich in antioxidants. Watch Glassman’s clips via the following links: "Early Show", "700 Club".

The Council held a strong presence in radio broadcast media throughout the month of February as well. The Council hosted a radio media tour with Glassman that included more than 20 interviews across stations in top markets like Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, Dallas and Atlanta. Results boast an audience of nearly four million listeners, and taped interviews are still scheduled to air in the coming weeks. The tour promoted mushrooms as a true superfood, highlighting Council key messages on vitamin D and weight management. A seasoned media expert, Glassman guided conversation to showcase the many nutritional benefits of mushrooms. In addition to the radio media tour, Keri was featured on the syndicated CBS radio show, “Bonnie Churchill Reporting,” alongside actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Academy Award-winning director, Ron Howard. During the interview, Keri discussed why mushrooms are one of her favorite superfoods thanks to their antioxidant content, vitamin D, versatility and use as a substitute for higher-calorie meat dishes. You can listen to the full interview here. This interview alone garnered more than 8.6 million impressions.

Us Weekly featured a roundup of Glassman’s weight management tips and snack suggestions in early February. When it comes to pizza, Glassman recommended a veggie slice containing mushrooms because they help boost immunity. Placements in an entertainment outlet, like Us, exposes a new audience to nutrition and mushroom messages, reaching nearly 7.8 million readers.

Mushroom Council placements represented an average of 80 percent of total mushroom news, which is above the norm of 33 to 75 percent during a period of proactive outreach. To view all February placements, click here.

In February, MushroomInfo.com and MushroomChannel.com experienced 13,510 unique visitors combined, a 13 percent increase compared to January’s total unique visitors. Visitors to the Mushroom Channel and MushroomInfo.com have increased largely as a result of chatter surrounding the retail mushroom display contest hosted on the Mushroom Channel and Twitter.

Twitter and Mushroom Channel subscriber numbers have continued to rise steadily. The Council has 1,509 Twitter and Facebook followers to date. Obtaining these followers resulted in 167,963 total online exposures in February, an 18% increase over January’s total of 138,471. Key online influencers, such as magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray, are making note of Mushroom Channel conversations. For example, Every Day with Rachael Ray “retweeted” a Council-generated post, making it accessible to its 7,338 followers. Some of the top influencers following the Mushroom Channel are Health magazine, Food Network, Rachael Ray Show, LA Times Food, The Oprah Show and Cooking Light. To see the Council’s top 100 followers, click here.

Rachel_Ray

On the Retail Front:

Mushrooms were featured in the Produce Industry Insider market snapshot on February 12, and three of the newest Council members were introduced in a news brief in the February 17 edition of The Packer. These combined placements resulted in 54,080 impressions for the month.

The Council launched a “Reverse Twitter” campaign this month to acquire feedback directly from consumers about their favorite retailers based on the best mushrooms displays. This grassroots approach across the Council’s social media assets – Twitter, Facebook and the Mushroom Channel – garnered 73,453 impressions! To see what consumers found most attractive, click here. Stay tuned for more key learnings from this contest, which will be available as a case study in the next issue of the Mushroom Marketplace retail newsletter.

The Council developed a year-end press release for 2009 and distributed it to retail publications. Fresh mushrooms were the best performing vegetable among the top 20 retail produce categories in 2009 according to FreshLook Marketing for the period ending December 27, 2009. This continued growth propelled retail sales nationwide to nearly 800 million dollars for the year. To view this press release and include it in your sales kits, click here.

The Council pursues editorial opportunities on an ongoing basis to promote mushrooms with various trade publications. Please share with us any news or information from your region for the following upcoming opportunities:

For a more detailed report click here (most recent Mushrooms Top Line report).
For larger image, click here.

On the Foodservice Front:

Foodservice media outreach resulted in an article about stuffed mushrooms in National Culinary Review. The article includes chef advisory panelist Bob Okura who says that the stuffed mushrooms are the Cheesecake Factory’s number one best selling appetizer. Chef Bradley from Addison also discusses the stuffed mushroom dish he created for our IFEC sponsorship. Other February placements continued to list mushrooms in Asian, pizza and salad stories.

The Council published a new foodservice sell sheet, Mushrooms on the Menu in 2009, which gives an overview of the year for mushrooms on chain menus. The Council distributed this newsletter to nearly 800 chefs, corporate menu decision-makers, foodservice management executives, suppliers, journalists and other foodservice professionals who attended the Worlds of Flavor Conference in the fall. In short, 2009 saw more mushrooms in more places on more menus than ever before and this sell sheet covers the resulting mushroom menu highlights. In addition, the sell sheet features “premium” QSR mushroom burgers and examples of mushroom dishes promoted by the Council during 2009.

In preparation for the 2010 foodservice photo shoot, the Council collected 50 recipes from chefs across the country, a testament to the strength of the Council’s growing network of chefs. Based on foodservice trends and editorial opportunities (among other criteria), the team carefully narrowed these 50 recipes down to the top ten choices for testing, of which eight recipes will be included in the photo shoot. The new foodservice photos will be leveraged in relevant efforts across both foodservice and consumer initiatives, MushroomInfo.com, the Mushroom Channel, Twitter/Facebook, newsletters, sales kit materials and collateral.

At the end of February, the Council hosted the final judging event for “The Best Mushroom Recipe Goes to Indianapolis,” a contest held exclusively for foodservice directors within the Big Ten athletic conference at Kendall College in Chicago. The contest pitted executive chefs and foodservice directors from the 11-school conference against each other in a friendly competition to create mushroom recipes for three categories of university-favored cuisine: Pizza, Sandwich, and Entrée. Most entries were vegetarian, with mushrooms at the heart of the dish, which reflects the increased interest in vegetarianism among college students. Purdue University earned Big Ten bragging rights by winning the pizza category with their Roasted Portabella Pizza, and their Vegetarian Mushroom Stir Fry was dubbed as best overall recipe, landing them the grand prize package that includes a trip for four to the NCAA men’s national basketball championship in Indianapolis this April. The University of Iowa’s recipe for Chorizo Breakfast Sandwich with Mushroom Gravy scored best in the sandwich category. As category winners, both schools will receive scholarships to attend the 2010 National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) annual conference in July.

To see new mushroom menu items for February, click here.

On the Nutrition Influencer Front:

The Council submitted comments to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) as they deliberate over the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans to be released later this year. In an effort to increase awareness of mushrooms as a food source of vitamin D, the Council notified the Committee about updates to the government nutrient database and resources that now include mushrooms as the only fresh vegetable or fruit that are a dietary source of vitamin D.