Home : Resources : Monthly Shipping Reports : 2010 June

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June 2010 Industry News

  

SHIPMENT SUMMARY

 

  

COUNCIL UPDATE

 

• If you have not yet placed your order for truck panels and would like to do so, please complete the order form and fax into the Council office. To see the artwork click here, to see the style guide click here.

• If you are a handler and complete handler reports you need to become “certified” through the Council. If you have not yet been certified, please contact the Council office and arrange your certification with Cheryl.

• The 2009 Annual Report has been posted to the council website; you can find it by clicking here.

 

MARKETING SUMMARY

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS/PLACEMENTS TO DATE:

       May impressions overview:  

Program	May 2010 Impressions	% of May 2009 Impressions	Total Year Impressions to Date	% of Annual Goal
Consumer/Nutrition	86,494,992	77%	362,242,002	66%
Foodservice	527,948	27%	2,964,286	78%
Retail	0	0%	966,660	58%

       Mushroom Share of Voice: 

Week Ending	Mushroom Council Generated Placements	% of Total Mushroom Coverage**	Type of Outreach
May 8**	26	57 percent	Proactive
May 15	12	67 percent	Proactive
May 22	7	47 percent	Proactive
May 29***	8	42 percent	Proactive
Total	53	54 percent	Proactive

 

• The Mushroom Council is partnering with City of Hope for a second year in a row to reinstate the pink promotion this October during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Have you determined the number of tills/labels you will commit to? The deadline for updating the Council was June 15 to coordinate your payment.  As you recall, during last year’s pink campaign, the mushroom industry saw record high sales in October 2009 with mushroom receipts having climbed 6.7 percent in dollar volume and 12.3 percent in pound volume, according to Freshlook Marketing. It appears that consumers have spoken and that going pink can lead to increased sales. 

• Additionally, the Council is attempting to negotiate a package buy for tills this year for those who wish to participate as a group. If you choose to take this route, please communicate your group participation with the Council.

• See the below “On the Pink Front” section for more updates on the pink promotion.

• In April, fresh mushroom sales showed a 4.9% increase in dollars and pounds, according to FreshLook Marketing, period ending April 25, 2010. This increase is significant as mushroom pounds were up 7.5% last year for same time period. Two year strong double digit growth is significant.
   

Foodservice Sales Training:

• The Mushroom Council hosted the first Foodservice Sales Training event June 7-8 in St. Helena, CA. In partnership with the Culinary Institute of America, the two-day seminar aimed to teach the 13 participating growers how to become a more effective asset to customers and companies by:
  • Leveraging the benefits of mushrooms (Health, Popularity and Umami)
  • Positioning mushrooms more effectively with key commercial and non-commercial segments
  • Working more effectively with the distributor
  • Overcoming key challenges faced in the kitchen

• The two-day agenda for the seminar included informational sessions, culinary demonstrations and examples of how growers can use Mushroom Council materials and concepts, and execute them with customers and distributors. Attendees also received comprehensive training kits.  

Mushrooms in the News and Online:

• Check out the May 31 issue of Woman’s World for a two-page, full-color spread on the health benefits of numerous cultivated mushroom varieties, “Boost Your Health and Happiness with Mushroom Magic.” Woman’s World is a national magazine that reaches 1.3 million subscribers. This piece has an advertising value of $155,800. 

  • Other mushroom nutrition messages are conveyed as well, including vitamin D, weight management, potassium and selenium. This article serves as a testament to the importance of funding nutrition research and includes numerous key messages in one place. Feel free to print hardcopies to share with your customers to explain the many benefits of mushrooms.  Click here to view/print. 

• The Mushroom Council met with 10 prominent consumer magazines in New York City on May 24 & 25 to introduce the Council’s upcoming pink promotion and the relationship between mushrooms and cancer, as well as continue to increase awareness about the many health benefits of mushrooms. The tour included Bon Appétit, Whole Living (formerly known as Body + Soul), Health, Ladies’ Home Journal, Self, Family Circle, Shape, Woman’s Day, O, The Oprah Magazine and Good Housekeeping. The team included research and media representatives from City of Hope (Dr. Shiuan Chen and Shawn Le); and nutrition expert and author Dave Grotto, R.D., L.D.N. Resulting coverage from the meetings should start appearing this fall.

• Thanks to a bevy of recent studies on the importance of vitamin D, media and consumers alike are showing interest in this high-profile nutrient. This past month, former Council spokesperson, Cynthia Sass, RD, appeared on “ABC News Now” in a segment dedicated to food sources of vitamin D. In her interview, Sass recommended mushrooms as one of only three food sources, noting that they are the only item in the produce aisle to contain this critical nutrient. You can view the segment here. Current spokesperson Dr. Michael Holick recently interviewed with the Tampa Tribune about the recommended levels of vitamin D people should maintain, and how to get more of it in their bodies. Also, PP1 spokesperson Keri Glassman, RD, recommended mushrooms as a great source of D, amid their many nutritional benefits, in a Q&A blog post featured on the Mushroom Channel. 

 

• Twitter and Mushroom Channel subscriber numbers continue to rise at a steady rate. The Council has 1,796 Twitter followers and Facebook “likes” (formerly known as “fans”) to date, a seven percent increase from last month. May Twitter activity resulted in 166,487 online impressions, a two percent decrease from April. The decrease is likely due to the fact that the call for Mushroom Channel contributors was made in April and sparked additional online chatter. Some of the latest top influencers to follow the Mushroom Channel include Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine, Fitness Magazine. 

• In May, Taste of Home magazine featured a mushroom advertisement created by the Council on the back cover of their special interest publication – Summer Busy Family Recipes. This magazine will be available in retailers until July 5. The advertisement can be found online here. Feel free to use this as a handout with your customers.

• In May, MushroomInfo.com and MushroomChannel.com experienced a combined total of 13,960 unique visitors, a 7% decrease compared to April’s 14,930 total unique visitors.

• Each week the Council distributes relevant media clips to help you stay on top of the latest mushroom news and trends for you to share with your customers. The easy-to-read summary highlights print, online and broadcast news stories in addition to relevant blogs, magazines and trade outlets covering mushrooms. If would like to sign up, please send us a quick response and we’ll ensure you receive the report moving forward.

• To view all May placements, click here.

• Did you know MushroomInfo.com recently received a makeover? The fresh new look and structure makes it easier to find the latest and greatest information about mushrooms. It’s the perfect place for consumers, media, retailers and chefs to quickly access mushroom nutrition information, amazing recipes and the latest on Council activities. Tell your customers to visit the new site at www.mushroominfo.com and encourage them to sign up for updates from the Mushroom Channel or to receive the latest information on the industry, trends and research via our retail or foodservice newsletters.

 

On the Retail and Foodservice Front:

• In May, the Council developed a “Mushroom Download” fact sheet. The fact sheet is a combination of retail key messages from the past year and highlights sales trends, consumer demand information, best practices as well as the nutritional benefits of mushrooms. Use this one pager to share with retailers to remind them that mushrooms are a reliable value generator for the produce department. To access the online version of the “Mushroom Download,” 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:
  • Produce Merchandising – Merchandising Commodity Focus: Mushrooms, Pears and Apples; deadline is June 28, 2010
  • Produce Business – Mushrooms Merchandising Review; deadline is July 2, 2010
  • Grocery Headquarters – School’s Back in Session: it’s almost time for school, which provides a great opportunity to increase produce sales; deadline is July 6, 2010
  • The Griffin Report of Food Marketing – Back to School Issue: In-Store Promotions; deadline is July 15, 2010
  • Food Logistics – Cold Chain Report: How to better manage the cold chain; deadline is July 15, 2010 

• Foodservice media outreach resulted in an article in Food Management that highlights mushrooms as a great way to create a delicious gluten-free meal and includes two mushroom recipes and photos: the Sodexo Mushroom Frittata and Big 10 contest runner-up Roasted Portabella Pizza. The foodservice team set up the interview with Chef Ida Shen of UC Berkeley Dining Services to discuss gluten-free options for students. In addition, media outreach resulted in an article in Prepared Foods that discussed using mushrooms and umami as a tactic to reduce sodium but keep dishes tasting delicious and other articles keeping mushrooms in vegetarian, side dish and college dining stories.

• To see new mushroom menu items for May, click here.

 

• The Council kicked off 2010 pink activities with two sales trainings for industry members to discuss City of Hope research, hear feedback from a grower who participated last year and review the available sales kit materials. If you were unable to attend, City of Hope has developed a document that can be shared with retailers to provide them with a better understanding of the research underway in relation to mushrooms. This piece will be included in the hard copy pink sales kits and is also available online here. 

• During the sales training webinars, two industry members had the opportunity to showcase their initiatives around going pink in 2009 and provided testimonials as to why the promotion was such as success. Included below are key highlights.
  • Gary Schroeder, Dole Mushrooms: “We used the pink promotion to reposition mushrooms among consumers as a nutritional powerhouse by using the ‘Every Day, Every Way for Good Health’ message. This helped us change consumers’ view of mushrooms year round.”
  • Fletcher Street, Ostrom Mushroom Farms: “Last year’s pink program gave us a great story to tell about mushrooms and their health benefits in a program that has a lot of personal resonance for many consumers. The pink tills captured consumers' attention because they popped in the produce department.
    • The retailer recognizes National Breast Cancer Awareness Month as a profitable marketing opportunity as well as a way to garner community goodwill for themselves. They were very open to the 'pink' mushroom concept and appreciative of the partnership, which in turn was a huge relationship builder for us.
    • Because Breast Cancer Awareness Month touches consumer on many different levels, they will take the time to read or listen to information we shared, which is usually not the case. For this reason, we opted to participate in in-store demos to share the 'mushroom story'. While these typically result in a lift in sales for one day only, we found them to be more about delivering the health message and the research being done by City of Hope. The in-store demos really served as our vehicle to get out the health claim on mushrooms.”  

• In accordance with USDA, the Council has updated the language on the on-pack label regarding the process of awarding money to City of Hope for the pink promotion. The new language is in-line with other previously developed materials and denotes the agreement to “provide” City of Hope with $50,000, rather than “donate.” Please ensure you’re using the correct label on all pink packaging and collateral.  

• This month, the Council created an internal document that includes additional approved language for your use with point-of-sales materials and other on-pack labels. The Mushroom Council and City of Hope are happy to work with you when using this additional language, to ensure that your collateral is in-line with USDA guidelines. You can download this document here. 

• While we understand that many of you have retailers that do not use ready-made POS materials, there may still be an opportunity to work mushroom messages into their collateral by engaging them earlier in conversations. Such ways might be including a recipe in an upcoming newsletter or placing an ad in a future circular. The Council created an internal tip sheet to help guide your conversations with retailers that can be found on the website here.  

• All pink participants will be receiving a hard-copy sales kit with both internal and external documents to help make your promotion a success. The external materials are available for use at retail immediately. Use the internal documents as a guide to going pink, and utilize the additional information to inform your conversations with retailers.All materials can be found in the Retail Sales Tools section of the website here.  

• For any questions related to the pink promotion, please reach out to Bree Flammini at bree.flammini@edelman.com or 312-233-1204; or get started by contacting the Council at 408-432-7210 or info@mushroomcouncil.org to secure your participation.

 

 
For larger image, click here.