Flavor, Trend and Profit: Mushrooms Are Moving Up

Merchandising and promoting mushrooms can generate sales.

As trends reshape food retailing, mushrooms are gaining new prominence — thanks to shifting supply dynamics, rising consumer demand for their nutritional benefits, and evolving produce section layouts. For retailers, that means securing supply, merchandising mushrooms prominently, and promoting them effectively can lead to strong returns.

Wegmans is among those food retailers that merchandise mushrooms prominently and deeply in its produce sections. Still, the company is aware that it has to bulk up when customers are particularly anxious to purchase mushrooms.

“During Thanksgiving, we’ll go through cases and cases of mushrooms,” says Alex Secory, produce department manager at Wegmans, Brooklyn, NY.

He adds that, overall, baby bellas are the top-selling mushroom in the store, with shiitake and white mushrooms also favorites. He adds, though, that Brooklyn shoppers are especially fond of sliced white mushrooms for their ease of use.

Wegmans carries specialty mushrooms, such as lion’s mane, but they don’t drive the business, says Secory. Yet, he points out having variety is important because shoppers who visit Wegmans expect to have a range of choices. The key is having enough of the big drivers and just enough of the specialty mushrooms that consumers expect to be in the store, while not stocking so much to generate expensive shrink.

MUSHROOM CONSUMER

Today’s mushroom consumer is diverse, representing all life stages and a range of incomes and circumstances, from singles to households with families, according to Cristie Mather, vice president of marketing, Mushroom Council, Lee’s Summit, MO. Still, certain tendencies emerge in the council’s research, and food retailers might want to evaluate such trends in building assortments and merchandising.

In the Mushroom Council’s research, heavy-frequency mushroom shoppers tend to be Baby Boomers and Gen X.

“They are more immersed in a foodie lifestyle,” Mather says. “They eat a range of mushroom varieties and incorporate them into all meals of the day. These important shoppers place a high value on mushrooms and believe that they make their meals tastier, healthier and more sustainable. Retailers can continue to keep these shoppers engaged by ensuring a range of mushroom varieties are available on display at all times.”

Lighter frequency mushroom shoppers tend to be younger, including Millennials and Gen Zers.

“They enjoy cooking, but don’t always have the time or the know-how,” says Mather. “They prioritize convenience and primarily shop for the most common mushroom varieties, such as white button and cremini. Retailers can help drive sales with these shoppers by offering sliced mushrooms, as well as ready-to-cook options, such as stuffed mushrooms. Quick and easy recipes also are of value for these particular shoppers.”

Mather says the Mushroom Council has lots of free recipe resources for retailers to use to appeal to this audience. “These shoppers also prize mushrooms for special occasions, so take advantage by merchandising mushrooms for holidays all year-round.”

WHAT’S SELLING?

The best way to look at the development of the mushroom sector is to skip all the noise of shorter time periods, and compare today’s sales patterns to those of a decade or more ago, says Anne-Marie Roerink, of 210 Analytics, who works with the Mushroom Council.

“Compared to 2013, white mushroom sales have decreased from 66% of total fresh mushroom dollars sold at retail to 49% in the past year,” she says. “Today, a broader diversity of mushrooms is going into shoppers’ baskets, including cremini and portobello mushrooms, as well as specialty mushrooms, led by shiitake.”

She cites Circana data that shows cremini/brown mushrooms going from a 30% dollar share in 2013 to 43% for the 52 weeks ending June 15. In that same timeframe, specialty mushroom sales have gone from a 3% to a 7% dollar share.

Yet that isn’t the whole story.

“Sold at a lower price per unit, white mushrooms represented 72% of all fresh mushroom pounds sold in the produce department in 2013,” says Roerink. “Today, that is down to 56%, while the share of brown mushrooms has increased to 42% [from 26% in 2013]. Because specialty mushrooms fetch higher prices on a per unit and per pound basis, dollar share is far higher than its volume share at 2%. Still, that has doubled since 2013.”

Mixed packages, often referred to as chef blends or gourmet blends, also grew in share, says Roerink.
In the specialty mushroom arena, she says shiitake is the largest seller, adding that the past five years, shiitake has grown from 3.6% of dollar sales in calendar year 2020 to 4.5% over the past year.

“Specialty mushroom sales are especially strong in Asian retail, stores such as H-Mart, and they typically go untracked in the big, syndicated data firms,” she adds.

Roerink is also watching what she calls “an interesting trend” in specialty mushrooms. “Typically, white mushrooms are the ‘starter’ mushroom for people who first come into the category, as it’s often what the family recipe calls for,” she explains. “As consumers start getting more into mushrooms, they broaden their selection to brown mushrooms.”

Foodies are driving specialty mushroom sales. “In recent years, the emergence of specialty mushrooms in everything from supplements to coffee and cookies has more consumers moving directly into the specialty mushroom segment,” Roerink says. “This is one of the reasons behind the growth in specialty mushrooms, such as lion’s mane.”

DOLLAR SENSE

As it stands at midyear, the outlook for mushroom price and supply is positive, notes Mike Stephan, vice president of sales and business development for Monterey Mushrooms, Watsonville, CA.

“The mushroom industry is entering the second half of 2025 with abundant supply and stable pricing,” he says. “Thanks to expanded growing capacity and efficiencies across key producing regions in the U.S. and Mexico, consumers can expect consistent availability and attractive promotional activity, especially in brown and specialty mushrooms, where demand continues to grow.”

Stephan says that, although fresh mushrooms are effectively in season year-round, “demand picks up in November and stays strong all the way through April due to the holidays and comfort food cooking.”

Summer lifestyles focused on grilling and salads suggest opportunity exists between Memorial Day to Labor Day, he says, adding Monterey Mushrooms has just rolled out a lineup of specialty mushrooms to that end.

“Mushrooms are increasingly showing up in warm-weather dishes — grilled skewers, salads, and meatless meals — suggesting a growing opportunity to promote them between Memorial Day and Labor Day as a summer staple,” he says. “Our year-round production across multiple regions ensures consistent supply and quality no matter the season, giving retailers flexibility to promote mushrooms 12 months a year.”

Jim Garsow, chief marketing officer, Caputo & Guest, Kennett Square, PA, says that overall supply of mushrooms has been topping demand, however, different segments of the sector have had different outcomes.

“Organic mushrooms are the only bright spot in the category, with brown and specialty segment dollar sales up 4.5% and 3.3% versus a year ago,” he says. “Brands like Caputo & Guest organic mushrooms have been expanding offerings and distribution. Value-added chef’s cuts, like our sliced king oyster and lion’s mane steak medallions, have been well received by customers and time-starved consumers.”

Garsow says many retailers have reduced the space allocation to conventional agaricus white/brown mushrooms. “Random weight mushroom dollar sales, down 9.7% versus a year ago, are one of top decliners. While they continue to be carried in fresh specialty and natural stores, conventional retailers are finding it difficult to justify the space allocation to bulk.”

At Buona Foods, Landenberg, PA, Chris Johansen, sales & account manager, says bulk mushrooms still remain relevant to some retailers and consumers, but make up only a small percentage of retail sales.

Johansen says supply is steady at the moment. “We have increased our growing capacity over the last several years, and we are in the midst of another expansion right now. As we approach the end of the summer, we will see the same seasonal challenges that we usually see on the growing side, followed by the increased demand of the holidays.”

The involvement of Chinese companies in the mushroom sector is changing the dynamic, notes Adam Pokornicky, chief executive, Mountain Meadow Mushroom Farm, Escondido, CA, and they are using more automation than companies in the U.S. and Canada.

As such, Mountain Meadow has moved away from more mainstream mushrooms, such as creminis, and developed a new business model. As it develops its specialty business, the goal is to become a high-tech operation that can compete with anyone in the mushroom business on cost and quality.

“I think we can be a high-quality, low-cost producer long term,” he says. “American grown, regenerative agriculture, organic, doing things the right way.”

Bryan Shelton, vice president of sales and marketing, Giorgio Fresh, Temple, PA, says, the outlook for mushrooms is “steady but cautious.”

“Different costs like labor, energy and packaging continue to put pressure on pricing,” Shelton says. “However, since we are a vertically integrated operation, we are well-positioned to manage these challenges, while maintaining quality and service for our retail and foodservice partners.”

Giorgio focuses on white, brown, exotic and organic mushrooms, but its product mix has evolved.
“Today, there’s strong demand for value-added products,” says Shelton. “Our solution is creating innovations, like stuffed products, grill packs and sauté kits. We are expanding into specialty varieties, launching Vita Sana Sol to branch beyond mushrooms into citrus with products like Persian limes. Our focus has shifted from being just a mushroom supplier to being a flavor-forward, convenience-driven brand.”