Mushroom demand continues to grow, with larger pack sizes and Monterey Mushrooms’ Baby Bellas seeing significant growth this past year, said Bruce Knobeloch, vice president of marketing and product development for the Watsonville, Calif.-based company.
Monterey Mushrooms is a family-owned, vertically integrated mushroom company celebrating 50 years in business. The mushroom marketer has a strong retail focus, he said.
With a very high percentage of its compost being organic, Monterey Mushrooms has the flexibility to expand organic production quickly based on demand, Knobeloch said.
Demand is buoyed by consumer awareness of the health benefits of mushrooms, he said.
“Consumers are savvy, and they are well read about the functional benefits of mushrooms to their overall health,” he said. In addition, blending mushrooms with meat or as a meat replacement continues to gain popularity, Knobeloch said, especially as inflation is also hitting the meat industry.
The goal for the company in 2022 is to produce more volume than 2021, but the lack of labor is challenging to growers.
“Lack of labor has made it difficult to grow, harvest and pack to meet demand,” Knobeloch said.
Retailers can effectively promote mushrooms by carrying a wide selection of stock-keeping units with varied pack sizes to appeal to all consumers, he said.
