Specialty mushrooms include brown mushrooms like Criminis and Portabella, but Shiitake, Oyster and Enoki varieties are part of the family as well. “Demand for specialty mushrooms is very high and was initially driven by chefs and cooking shows,” says Hill. “The Forest Nameko, a traditional Asian mushroom, was featured on Top Chef and the orders went through the roof. Brown mushrooms are experiencing triple growth when compared to growth of traditional button mushrooms. Food retailers have been selling specialty mushrooms for years and this has added to consumer awareness. Today, consumption of specialty mushrooms is huge on the East Coast and the West Coast as well as Florida. The early adopters reside in urban areas and for this type of consumer, specialty mushrooms have become another product on the shelf,” says Hill. “Consumption in the center of the country offers opportunities for growth.”
Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. uses bottle technology
Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. grows seven varieties of specialty mushrooms. “We grow them on substrate, in light and in bottles. We are always looking for new varieties as long as they meet our criteria. We need to be able to grow the mushroom commercially, but shelf life and ship ability are very important as well. They need to be shipped across country.” Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. does not export its products. “We do not have enough volume to export,” said Hill.
Asia not a big competitor for imports
Although Asia is a large producer of specialty mushrooms, Hill is not too worried about the competition from imports. “It takes 13 to 17 days for mushrooms from Asia to land in the US and that really impacts shelf life. The Trumpet Royale variety is a classic Asian mushroom that we are able to grow ourselves which limits the need for imports,” Hill said.
Cold chain management is the biggest challenge for the mushroom industry. “Temperatures during transportation can affect the quality of the mushroom. To ensure the end consumer enjoys a high quality mushroom, we put a ‘best by’ date on the packaging. This is not very common in the industry, but it encourages rotation by produce managers in the store and it benefits the end consumer,” said Hill. “One of the latest developments for us is a change in packaging,” said Hill. “We changed from partially recyclable to totally compostable and recyclable cardboard.”.
For more information:
Meg Hill
Gourmet Mushrooms Inc.
meg@mycopia.com
www.mycopia.com