HEALTH
Creating and driving mushroom demand
Increasing mushroom consumption benefits everyone in the mushroom business, so it’s important that as many as possible, in any way they can, spread the word about the health benefits of eating more mushrooms. Bart Minor provides an overview on using the health benefits of
mushrooms to increase demand. By Bart Minor, intro and footnote by Greg Seymour
B
art Minor, MBA is the President/CEO of the U.S. Mushroom Council. He is also a key member of the ISMS Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative team that seeks to underpin global demand for mushrooms.
Did you ever wonder? • How blueberries suddenly came out of nowhere to become the most sought-after fruit, changing the way berries in the US are merchandised, year round? Nutrition research discovered that blueberries have the highest ORAC rating (a measure of antioxi- dant activity) of ANY fruit or vegetable.
• How POM juice gained a national reputation (and distribution) almost overnight? Millions of dollars have been invested in nutrition research (and sizable marketing promotion support).
• What is arguably the hottest nutrient in the news because of extensive global health research findings - and about to get another big boost when the US finalizes regulations requiring its listing on nutrition labels? Vitamin D.
Health concerns drive decisions The point is that while convenience and cost remain prime drivers of consumers’ purchase decisions, health is increasingly playing a larger role when consumers decide to pull that final purchase trigger. At a meeting of the Pro- duce for Better Health Foundation, NPD (Mar- keting Research Group) reported that healthier considerations become more important after age 50 - 70% of ALL consumers over the age of 65 have some kind of health issue. Who is over 50, if not over 65? The demographic that has driven trends their whole lives…boomers. But
40 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
that is not all, their (our) kids, the millennials, are not only seeing their parents age and strug- gle with their healthy eating choices, but are beginning to settle down and have families of their own whom they want to protect and keep healthy. Thus the two largest demographics the US (if not the planet) have ever seen have an eye toward making better choices, and the race is on to capture their attention and dollars. This suggests the price of entry is nutrition research and efficient and effective communi- cation (marketing) of the results. Consumers, and the media to reach these consumers, are becoming more savvy and skeptical of health claims. Research published in peer-reviewed journals is now the standard. Clinical (human) trials are the holy grail that can elevate a food to “superfood” status.” Moreover, once pub- lished, research remains a permanent record in the annals of nutrition science.
The role of the Mushrooms and Health Initiative
As part of the Mushroom Council’s effort to take advantage of consumers’ interest in health and nutrition, it joined with the Australian Mushroom Growers’ Association to create the Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative (Initiative), launched at the Inter- national Medicinal Mushroom Conference 4 (Slovenia 2007). The Initiative is a collaborative project that provides the scientific underpin- ning to increase the worldwide consumption of mushrooms by disseminating mushroom and health information to those in marketing, public relations, the media and to health professionals, who deliver the message directly to consumers. The Initiative’s core components include the Mushrooms and Health Report,
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