7 ways to sell more mushrooms all year round!

According to research company IRI, the demand for all types of mushrooms increased in Europe during the period 2020-2021. This growth can be explained, among other things, by current food trends. Think of food trends such as less sugar, less salt and eating less meat. Or, for example, the interest in healthy food. Furthermore, mushrooms fit in with trends such as cooking with local produce, convenience, sustainability and eating meat substitutes. Nevertheless, like many other food products, the sales of mushrooms can fluctuate during the year. Mushrooms may be available all year round, but like many other products, they are eaten more frequently at certain times of the year. Fortunately, there are ways to boost the demand for mushrooms and sell more of them throughout the year.

1. Evaluate your category offering regularly with your mushroom supplier

One of the best ways to boost mushroom sales is to carry out an analysis of your category in cooperation with the supplier. Such an analysis gives you the opportunity to evaluate your entire category and find out how you can optimise it. Such a category review will give you several insights:

• The Category Manager sees how a category is performing in relation to expectations.
• A category review shows whether the assortment, retailers, promotions and product sets all work well together.
• A category review allows you to see where there are opportunities in relation to new consumer and market trends.

A category review helps you to create and gives direction to future goals.

2. Pay attention to the shelves

Particularly in the case of the fruits and vegetables  shelves, where freshness is very important, neat and tidy shelves are essential. However, this is not just about putting the packages neatly in front and making sure that there are no loose products lying around. 

Many American mushroom producers colour code their products. This allows the consumer to immediately see from the packaging which mushroom, or mushroom product, it is. The colour codes on the packaging also make for an attractive display in the shops there, of course. In the supermarkets in France, you see a lot of attention for 'signing' within the fruit and vegetables shelves. These are the notes above the products with product and product description on them. With text here, you can inform or inspire the shopper. 

There is no right or wrong way to arrange your shelves, because every shop is different and has different shoppers. In any case, pay enough attention to the shelves themselves and don't underestimate their value. It's all about experimenting to find out what your customers prefer.

3. Provide a varied supply of mushrooms

European consumers have discovered that you can add flavour and texture to dishes by using all kinds of different mushrooms. Therefore, if you want to sell more mushrooms, it is very important to have a varied selection. Although some exotic mushrooms are still relatively unknown to the average consumer, we can see that sales of these exotic species are growing enormously. 

A varied offer is not only about having different types of mushrooms on your shelves. Think also of sliced varieties and different mushroom mixes. But of course also the organic varieties. These are all ways of keeping your shelf stocked with a wide variety of mushrooms, which will increase the sales of your mushrooms.

4. The placement of organic mushrooms

Although some organic varieties of products do better in a separate shelf specifically for organic products, this is not the case with mushrooms. Research shows that if you place these varieties on the shelf among all the conventional mushrooms, the sales increase. And this placement not only increases the sales of organic mushrooms, but also the sales of conventional mushrooms. So it is another reason to add organic varieties to your shelf if you do not have them already.

5. Add vitamin D mushrooms

Consumers who are concerned with their health more often buy organic variants of products. These consumers are also working on their health through their diet. There are mushrooms that can contribute to this.

Vitamin D is good for your energy level, immune system, the vitality of your bones and more. Products that are high in vitamin D are a growing trend for retailers with products such as mushroom powder. This is added to breakfast smoothies, for example, to increase nutritional values. So adding mushrooms high in vitamin D is another way to capitalise on this trend.

6. Respond to the home cooking trend

The corona crisis has led consumers to cook more at home out of necessity. Whereas the average consumer used to have no time for breakfast, and always ate lunch at work, the persistence of working from home has led to these meals being consumed at home. There is also more time available for these meals. 

As a result, the demand for convenience food has increased. This allows consumers to save time and make healthy food choices in a simple way. Mushrooms are also an ideal product for culinary cross-sell actions. By placing mushrooms next to garlic and onions (because they are almost always needed together in dishes), you can also boost sales.

7.  Smart promotions all year round

The classic way of promoting products based on price still works best. Good planning and coordination with the supplier and its growers is crucial for this. In proper consultation, you can plan smart promotions. For example, in periods when sales are normally lower, such as in the summer, or if you want to introduce a new type of mushroom. Hold promotional campaigns at different times of the year, but also with different varieties of mushrooms, so that the consumer knows that you have all these varieties on your shelves.

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