32
MEETING
Aveskamp gave an idea of just how complex and time consuming the process of creating a new variety is (6-10 years). Advances in genetics have simplified the process, but the commercial launch of a new variety by Limgroup is not on the cards yet. However, Aveskamp doesn’t disregard the idea, nor the construction of a new spawn facility, or new forms of cooperation. The audience was eager to learn more about the properties used as the criteria for selection, but his lips remained sealed.
Stephen Allen of Monaghan Mushrooms.
In the afternoon, the participants visited the extremely hygienic growing rooms used by Limgroup for the tri- als, which were constructed by the Christiaens Group.
A picture of (nearly) all participants in front of the Parkhotel.
Christiaens Roland van Doremaele from Christiaens spoke about the new harvesting and transport technology and lo- gistics on mushroom farms. In his opinion, innovations in this area are induced by the rising cost price and a need to provide better labour conditions, better quality and uniformity of the end product and a customer driven demand. Depending on the layout of a farm, automated systems can provide a solution. One potential innovation being investigated by Christiaens is a cross between a shelving system and a single-layer system – a concept borrowed from floriculture. Three years ago, experiments were started with pinheading on traditional beds in tiers, after which the beds were transported elsewhere and harvested as a single layer. The beds are removed from the gro- wing room on wheels and rotated passed the pickers. Harvesting, watering and distributing air over the beds was very easy, but the costs of the system were high. A hybrid system is currently under construction comprising at least two layers. This system transports the trays via lifts and roller belt conveyors passed the pickers at a constant speed. Camera and laser techno- logy which can detect mushrooms ready for harvest is also being tested. In this case, the main challenge is programming the software. The technology above will shortly be implemented on a mushroom farm in Ger- many. A picking performance of 100 kg/hour is pos- sible, and with a hybrid tray system the costs amount to 0.05 euro per kg. Another advantage is that the system can be installed on many existing farms, provided there is enough space. Van Doremaele was unable to say what the ‘optimal’ system will be in the end: “But concepts like these will
certainly find a market. Labour is not going to get any cheaper!” Jan Gielen of DLV Plant Mushrooms gave an extensive explanation of the innovations and developments that are contributing towards the necessary reduction of CO2 emissions. In the Netherlands all mushroom farms will be expected to be climate neutral in 2020. DLV arranged a visit to ’t Voske, a farm that exemplifies sustainability (see MB56). This farm walk was extre- mely well attended by the international visitors. On the programme for the evening was a visit to a casino.
Marketing The programme on the second day of the workshop was all about marketing, a hot item at the moment. And the name that is synonymous with marketing is of course Jan Klerken. The director of Scelta Mushrooms gave a presentation about his successful enterprise, where the highest priority is devoted to product in- novation (funginal foods, finger food snacks), research into nutrition, flavour and social responsibility (Kids University for Cooking). Joe Caldwell from Monterey Mushrooms (USA) sum- marised the attractive and original marketing activities used by his company and in the USA in general. Monte- rey is the major producer and distributor of mushrooms in North America. Monterey has always excelled in the quality of its packaging and its ability to appeal to consumers, and in recent years has focussed succes- sfully on highlighting the health beneficial aspects of mushrooms in its marketing campaigns, particularly vitamin D. Their approach encompasses coverage in the national media, shops and nutritional experts and utilises social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, and attractive packaging and eye-catchers on the shop shelves. Pro-active marketing strategies are already generally accepted and widely used in the USA. Raising awareness is key in this respect. The Ame- rican mushroom industry feeds health professionals and journalists with a positive message (super food!), and they in turn pass the message on to consumers. In order to do this however you need to have in-depth consumer knowledge and understand the consumer’s motives; the subject chosen by Stephen Allen from Monaghan Mushrooms. Monaghan needs little intro- duction; it ranks among the world’s largest producers of fresh mushrooms and compost, with sales in 31 countries, more than 4000 employees and an output of 1.8 million kg per week. Monaghan recently acquired PrimeChamp. Monaghan bases its product decisi- ons on consumer generated data, actively monitors consumer behaviour and the demographic profile to be targeted. Its objectives are to widen the spectrum of the target demographic and expand the number of buying moments, to increase the number of meals with mushrooms as an ingredient, and motivate new reasons to buy mushrooms (flavour, nourishment, value for money). Changes in consumer behaviour lead to significant increases in sales in the United Kingdom. In the afternoon, the workshop participants had the chance to visit supplement producer Havens / MC- Substradd and Deckers Champignon over the border in Germany. The successful workshop, with a lecture programme that equated to the very best on offer in- ternationally, was concluded with a dinner at the Scelta Mushroom Institute in Venlo. ◗
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