While sales of traditional mushroom varieties continue to grow at a slow, but steady, pace, specialty mushrooms have boomed over the past few years.“The mushroom as a category is growing very slowly, only 1% to 2% each year,” says David Law, CEO of Gourmet Mushrooms Inc., “but the specialty mushroom is growing in double digits every year.”
Law, whose company grows eight varieties of specialty mushrooms, credits the American mushroom industry’s largest trade association with helping educate the public on the benefits of specialty mushrooms over the past decade. “The Mushroom Council, they did an excellent job,” Law says. “The younger crowd, especially millennials now, they know their mushrooms.”
According to Law, this has opened up new retail opportunities for Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. While the company continues to do the bulk of its business in the food service industry, Law says that younger markets have opened up retail opportunities for his company.
CEO believes “Myco-cultural revolution” on horizon
While the recent trend toward specialty mushrooms has meant increased business for Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc., Law believes that a larger shift is on the horizon. “Mushroom as a category has tremendous potential,” Law says. “[It]’s really young in terms of large scale production. The last thirty years, especially in China, the growth curve has been tremendous.”
Law’s company grows its mushrooms using a plastic bottle-based system, with mushrooms feeding on elements like sawdust and corn cobs – what Law describes as agricultural waste. Those materials are then recycled after each harvest. “From an ecological standpoint, its very friendly to the environment,” says Law.
With the world’s population continually expanding, and resources like farmland now scarcer and scarcer, Law believes that mushrooms may hold the key to sustainable produce. “How are we going to feed more people without damaging the ecosystem?” Law asks. “I think people want to look at alternatives.”
Photo credits to Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc.
For more information:
Justin Reyes
Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc.
Tel: +1 (707) 823-1743 ext. 111