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mushrooms merchandising review Steady, Reliable Sales Keep
Mushrooms At e Forefront
Shrink is challenging,
but nutrients and versatility drive category momentum.
IBY HOWARD RIELL
t’s not hard to successfully merchan- dise mushrooms in the produce de- partment, since most people love their taste, versatility and health bene ts. Still, maximizing sales does
require a bit of knowledge, some savvy mer- chandising, value-added options and a will- ingness to educate consumers.
“In our markets, we are seeing consumers willing to spend more money on premium mushroom products,” says Kevin Delaney, vice president sales and marketing for To-Jo Mushrooms based in Avondale, PA. “Baby Bellas continue to gain share over whites. Specialty items have been growing steadily, and organics have been o to a strong start this year.”
Delaney says having the right product mix for a particular market is key.
“If you have limited shelf space, you need to focus on the core mushroom items and bring in a couple of unique items season- allytomixitup.Ifyouhave6or8feetto work with, you can have a strong o ering of specialty and organic items.”
Greg Sagan, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Giorgio Fresh Co. based in Temple, PA, says he has seen sales increase over the past decade because of “staying on trend with consumers’ lifestyles and staying tuned into what they are looking for in nutrition. e fact that we continue to stay on top of product development trends also has helped that growth. Consumers are looking for items that are versatile and lend themselves to recipes.”
Whites and browns continue to dominate the category, but as Sagan points out, “We are seeing double-digit growth in exotics and specialty mushrooms.” Value-added o erings are also selling well.
MEETING THE DEMAND
Mushroom sales continue to grow at the same rate that they have for the past ve
years, approximately 3%, says Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Phillips Mushroom Farms in Kennett Square, PA. e white mush- room is the biggest mover, he says, followed by the brown category. “ e sales of the Shiitake mushroom continue to increase each year.”
Over the course of the past two years, Donovan recollects, “the added value of slicing the Shiitake mushroom has greatly added to the Shiitake’s category growth.”
According to Donovan and his colleagues, retailers who sell mushrooms need to incor- porate them into their promotional systems
to minimize shrink. “It does not matter if it is a loyalty card, promotional ads or recipes and sampling.” e retailer also has to provide enough shelf space to attract consumers and meet the demand for product that is gener- ated through promotions.
Donovan claims that the nutritional bene ts of mushrooms have not been su - ciently incorporated into the retail merchan- dising on a large scale. “Most of that info is coming from social media. I do believe that nutritional marketing will be used in the future as the retail marketing/merchandising systems improve.”
e nutritional bene ts of mushrooms are many and have only begun to be touted, notes Donovan, adding, “ e medicinal bene ts of mushrooms have only begun to be explored.” e National Mushroom Council has been responsible for a tremendous amount of research, and has dispensed a lot of information.
Donovan calls educational materials “very important, but the problem is nding the right vehicle or vehicles to get the informa- tion to the consumer.” His personal prefer-
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