Mushrooms gain attention as a budget booster

The time is right for mushrooms.

A powerhouse of nutrition and tasty plant-based meat alternative, consumers have long turned to mushrooms as a center-of-the-plate meal solution or supplement. Now with rising food costs, particularly in the meat department, mushrooms are also a smart savings solution.

It’s those added incentives to purchase that The Mushroom Council says it will spotlight in an upcoming campaign.

“Every year, we tend to devote each quarter to giving extra emphasis to a key mushroom attribute that’s right for that season,” said Bart Minor, president and CEO of The Mushroom Council. “In the late fall and throughout early winter, we promoted the role mushrooms play in feeding the immune system. In the spring, which includes Earth Month in April, we emphasized mushrooms’ sustainable production.”

During this summer’s burger season, The Mushroom Council has created consistent sizzle through a focus on blending fresh mushrooms with ground beef.

For the second year, The Mushroom Council partnered with Food Network Magazine and FoodNetwork.com for a summer’s worth of promotional activities centered around its Blended Burger Project, which began more than 10 years ago by first reaching professional chefs with the Culinary Institute of America and the James Beard Foundation. Today, the effort engages home cooks, showing them how to incorporate mushrooms into their favorite everyday meals.

Mushroom cravings and savings

“At the same time, we’re preparing a late summer/fall campaign that gets to the heart of how mushrooms are the answer in the face of rising food prices,” Minor said. “Leading up to and during September, which is National Mushroom Month, we will be demonstrating how mushrooms are the answer in the face of rising food costs.”

The campaign’s intent, says Minor, is to showcase how mushrooms can help consumers continue to enjoy the meaty meals they crave in these inflationary times.

“Mushrooms are the great meal extender, whether it’s blending with meat for making even more burgers, bulking up a breakfast omelet or hearty soup, or maximizing a comforting dish like beef stroganoff,” Minor explained.

The Mushroom Council said it will promote the idea through collaborations with social influencers, media outreach, digital ads and a website hub launching in mid-August.

“Mushrooms’ versatility makes them a helpful solution in a world where an increasing number of consumers are struggling financially,” said Anne-Marie Roerink, principal at 210 Analytics, pointing to the IRI/210 Analytics June shopper survey, which found that 96% of consumers say they are paying somewhat or a lot more for groceries than they did last year. A total of 30% of American households say they are struggling to even afford needed groceries, the survey said.

"This is where mushrooms come in," Roerink continued. "In addition to being nutritious, delicious and sustainable, mushrooms also allow consumers to stretch their meat dollars."

The council doubles down on this "more band for you buck" attribute of the mushroom through its "The Blend" project, which has taught scores of consumers, retailers and foodservice professionals alike the value of adding finely chopped mushrooms to stretch a pound of hamburger meat to five or six patties, or to be used in place of, or in combination with, ground beef in tacos and spaghetti Bolognese, to name a few examples of how mushrooms can be used in recipes.

“This is a long-standing tradition and, interestingly, is not just a way to stretch the meat dollar, but also a way to create an even better-tasting product,” Roerink said. “As such, mushrooms promoted with meat offer a win-win for both categories.”

And while mushrooms have seen some price increases, overall inflation in the category has been below that of total vegetables, says Roerink, who compares the bump in mushroom pricing to meat prices — which, because of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic at meat processing plants, have been rising for three years running.

 Source: IRI, Integrated Fresh, MULO, price per unit for the 52 weeks ending June 26, 2022

Hungry for inspiration

Several recent dietary trends may also help to position mushrooms for growth.

First, Roerink sees consumers returning to whole, plant-based foods — such as mushrooms — as a substitute for meat, rather than processed, plant-based alternatives, a category that she says has been on the decline since the second quarter of 2021.

And after conducting more than 30 store tours across the U.S. and the Netherlands in recent weeks, Roerink reports seeing numerous examples of retailers merchandising mushrooms in the meat department, both in the self-service case and the full-service counter.

“Some were stuffed with meat, but others were vegetarian offerings,” she said. “Likewise, we see consumers purchasing mix-and-match kebabs with meat and veggies during grilling season.”

Additionally, Roerink points to new survey results that indicate consumers crave meal inspiration like never before.

“I have never seen ‘routine meals I tend to prepare’ be as low for meal inspiration as they were in the survey that was fielded this week,” said Roerink, who will debut the survey results at the Southeast Produce Council’s upcoming Southern Innovations trade show and conference, Sept. 22-24, in Nashville, Tenn.

“After two and a half years of cooking more than they ever have, Americans are clearly tired of the same-old,” she said. “People are taking to digital sources, package labels, cookbooks, mom, etc., to come up with inspiration for something new.

“The best way for mushrooms to secure a place on the plate is to meet consumers at their place of inspiration. In fact, the closer we can bring together inspiration and purchase, the better,” she added.

Demand for culinary inspiration is also driving more retailers to offer digital, shoppable recipes, and more consumers to turn to social media for meal preparation ideas, noted Roerink.

“For years, Gen X and boomers looking for recipe inspiration online turned to recipe websites, Google searches and recipes on grocery stores’ and brands’ websites. Younger shoppers are much more focused on social media right now. In fact, YouTube has become one of the top resources for recipe inspiration, followed by Instagram, Pinterest and many other social media platforms including TikTok,” said Roerink, who added that TikTok provides an opportunity for mushroom purveyors to reach Gen Z.