Sales Up For Fresh Mushrooms

Fresh mushrooms outperformed produce retail sales as a whole in terms of both dollars and pounds sold, according to data from FreshLook Marketing for the period ending Jan. 2, 2011. Over the past year, the produce category as a whole experienced a 3.3% increase in dollar sales and a 1.6% increase in volume sold, whereas mushrooms grew at a larger pace, registering a 3.6% increase in dollar sales and a 3% increase in volume sold.

Strong performance in 2010, to the tune of more than 810 million dollars in annual sales and 200 million pounds sold, marks the third year of rising fresh mushroom sales at retail, following a 1.3 percent sales increase in pounds in 2008 and a 7.7% increase in pounds sold in 2009. These sales results make it clear that consumer demand for fresh mushrooms is growing, and retailers may continue to enjoy positive fresh mushroom sales.

“At this time last year, we were proud to say that fresh mushrooms experienced a 7.7% sales jump in pounds from 2008 to 2009. This 3% increase in 2010 is tremendous because it means that fresh mushrooms have sustained significant year-over-year sales growth for three years,” says Bart Minor, president and CEO of the Mushroom Council. “Increased consumer demand at retail makes mushrooms a reliable value generator for the produce department, offering retailers the opportunity to capitalize on fresh mushroom demand by keeping the momentum going through continuous promotions.”

Click here for the complete news release from PR Newswire.

For more information, contact the Mushroom Council at www.mushroomcouncil.org.