Lee's Summit, MO—The Mushroom Council recently announced a campaign called “Mushroom Monday,” giving grocers and consumers more incentive to add mushrooms to their daily menu. Whole Foods Market and Fresh Thyme Markets both listed mushrooms as a trending food for 2024. Over the past 10 years, mushroom sales have increased 20%. When the Mushroom Council's initiative launches in March, retailers can expect to see many features such as:
- Chefs and restaurants nationwide spotlighting mushroom-centric dishes for Mushroom Monday.
- Dietitians and health influencers encouraging using fresh mushrooms each Monday for a healthy start to the week.
- Grocery stores offering specials and inspiration to help shoppers make more mindful meal choices.
- Home cooks centering their Monday night meal planning on mushrooms.
Promotion of the event will rely heavily on foodservice and home chefs.
Eateries will be encouraged to share their featured mushroom menu item on the Mushroom Councils website. Upon uploading it, restaurants will have access to free downloadable assets such as:
- Mushroom Monday logo artwork for use on operator menus, ads/promotions, social posts, etc.
- Point of sale signage.
- Press release templates for self promotion.
Throughout 2024, the Mushroom Council was raise awareness and the program and participating restaurants through an online directory of participating restaurants, social media, influencer collaborations, online advertising, media events, and outreach.
Mushroom for Retailers & Home Chefs
The campaign will encourage home cooks and retailers to incorporate mushrooms every week. The Council will promote this campaign through social media, media outreach, branding, education guides, and a new hub on MushroomCouncil.com for consumers to find recipes to incorporate during their Mushroom Monday meals.
Meals continue to be home-centric and consumers are tired of figuring out what’s for dinner,” said Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, LLC. “Mushrooms have been trending for years and are now a key part not just of the culinary but the cultural zeitgeist. What a great initiative to help restaurants and grocers give shape to and seize this phenomenon with a year-round campaign that helps consumers solve the meal puzzle.”
“The best part?” Roerink added. “Chefs don’t have to create a new dish, and retailers don’t have to dramatically change their offerings to be a part of Mushroom Monday. They just need to amplify what they already are offering under the all-new Mushroom Monday banner. Spanning across the produce, meat, deli, frozen and grocery aisles, the opportunities to merchandise against Mushroom Monday are as versatile as the product itself.”
For foodservice operators, retailers, and dietitians seeking information early they can reach out to the Mushroom Council at MushroomMonday@MushroomCouncil.org.
