Monthly Shipping and Marketing Report | November 2016

Council Update

The next Council meeting will take place on January 25-26, 2017 in San Diego, CA. If you would like to attend, please let us know so we can make sure you are accommodated.
Exemption Applications for 2017 will be mailed to those who are currently exempt. If you need an application, click here.
A call for nominations will be sent on February 1, 2017 for three position on the Council for the 2018-2020 term. Positions are in Regions 1, 2 & 4.

Shipment Summary

To see current charts, click here.

The Month Ahead

Farm To Tailgate/The Blend on Gameday Pilot at USC during Homecoming (November 4th-5th). Will be serving the Blend to families that participate in Trojan Game Day and will be introducing them to the Blend and Blenditarian movement. If you are in the Los Angeles area you are more than welcome to attend the event, which is open to the public. Look out for a toolkit to host a Farm to Tailgate event featuring the Blend at your local universities after the event.
Four new videos designated to train school nutrition managers on incorporating USDA Mushrooms and the Blend into their menu will be released this month. Share the videos with your local school districts and customers to increase awareness and understanding of the Blend.
The School Nutrition “Blend the Rules” Contest has launched to capture success stories of mushrooms in schools from districts across the country. Encourage your school nutrition customers and local districts to participate in the campaign and share their mushroom success stories. Throughout the year the success stories will be published to help other districts find new ways to promote mushrooms with students.
The Council’s Crisis Management Webinar took place on Thursday, November 3rd at 3 PM EST/ 2PM CST/ 12 PM PST and it was presented by Laura Phelps and Amy Wood. Visit the website to see the replay: www.mushroomcouncil.org/crisis-management

Highlights from October

Mushroom Mania at University of Illinois to kick-off their conversion to all Blend burgers adding 400,000 servings of the Blend.
Presented Blended Burger Project winners to media at the James Beard House, resulting in coverage in multiple national and regional outlets. Met the five winning chefs for the first time and merchandised The Blend as the winning chefs cooked their winning burgers for attendees.
Blend sampling event at Mother’s Market in California on October 2nd. In Costa Mesa store, 200 samples distributed to consumers with 19 packages of mushroom sold during sampling event.
Kroger chef demos wine and Blend mushroom sampling event – Sold 420 packages of mushrooms in the 26 stores during the event.
Partnered with American Lamb Board to promote mushroom and lamb recipes on their social media channels & website resulting in a new audience viewing the recipe and visiting the website.
Hosted #GameDayBlend Instagram contest that received 60+ entries (here are a couple of our favorites so far: Seven-Layer Dip Blended Burger and Mushroom Frito Pie Burger).
Hosted a private event for Supermarket Registered Dietitians and Nutrition Media Influencers along with the annual Food & Nutrition Expo & Conference in Boston, MA.
- 70 supermarket dietitians and influencers attended the event to promote the Blend and available resources to the nutrition industry.
- The event resulted in over 50,000 quality impressions about mushrooms and the Blend from some of the top nutrition influencers.
- Supermarket Dietitian success stories from sampling The Blend will be captured as a result of the event and used to develop case studies to assist other retailers interested in demoing The Blend.
Dietitians mentioned The Blend on various media outlets as a result of FNCE, including US News Report and Luvo’s Blog.

Monthly Shipping and Marketing Report | November 2016

Council Update

Shipment Summary

The Month Ahead

Highlights from October

Topline Report