Interest and demand on exotic mushrooms continues to grow as the industry itself becomes more developed.
“Our demand has increased pretty drastically, especially compared to this time last year. Our production has increased as well,” says John Gelineau of Mushrooms Naturally in O’Fallon, Miss. “We've seen pretty steady growth in the last five years though I know from watching other small scale farms that sales typically hit a wall as far as local sales go. And then it’s about getting into a retail outlet.”
Mushrooms Naturally serves primarily foodservice clients and Gelineau says the more gourmet varieties of mushrooms are seeing the biggest spike in demand—including Oyster, Maitake, Hen of the Woods, Beech and more. “These are mushrooms relatively unfamiliar to the everyday consumer but more and more are becoming recognized and used by chefs on a regular basis. I see them on menus more often,” says Gelineau.
Local vs. national
Competing suppliers range from national to local organizations. “There are more and more small scale farmers like us popping up and that seems to be the growing competition. The local deals competing with us are ones from the St. Louis region, but also a few in Illinois,” says Gelineau. “But then there are some national chains out of the West Coast—northern California into Oregon and then into Washington--because of their predominant wild mushroom production out there. I see some companies out of Chicago and New York too.”
This means pricing remains competitive, says Gelineau, adding though that local product farmed for chefs can demand more premium pricing.
As an industry, Gelineau notes that equipment for mushroom production is becoming more and more available. “It used to be a standard in the industry that unless you were a mega-mushroom farm, you didn’t have access to some of the more specialized and purpose-built equipment. But through the indoor urban agricultural revolution, whether it be mushrooms or hydroponics, there seems to be more availability of equipment that’s also cheaper.”
