South Mill Champs expands distribution with Florida center
Kennett Square, Pa.-based mushroom grower South Mill Champs purchased a new distribution center in Lakeland, Fla.
The food-grade facility is more than 30,000 square feet and will get the upgrades necessary for mushroom processing and then start commissioning it in November, according to a news release.
South Mill Champs operates a network of distribution centers, including Atlanta, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles.
The centers provide onsite, fresh-sliced, high-quality mushrooms directly from the company’s Pennsylvania and British Columbia farms. Also, the distribution centers provide seasonal produce items to the local foodservice and retail markets.
“Our expansion into Florida is in line with our mission as we meet the increasing demand from our customers, many of which have a significant presence in this key market,” CEO Lewis Macleod said in the release.
National mushroom retail sales are more than 20% ahead of last year in dollars and 17% ahead in pounds, according to an analysis of retail data through Sept. 6, published by the Mushroom Council.
The retail insights also show that mushrooms have placed in the top 10 of fruits and vegetables with the highest year-over-year absolute dollar gains for 26 straight weeks, according to the release.
“We expect that market demand for mushrooms will continue to increase,” Macleod said in the release, “as mainstream consumers become increasingly educated on the health and environmental benefits of mushrooms.”
Related news:
South Mill Champs adds Loveday Mushroom Farms to company
South Mill Champs has new items
