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Nielsen report November 2024

The latest mushrooms comprehensive review by Nielsen has been released, which covers the 52 weeks to October 6 and is available on the Hort IQ site (not a member yet – sign up here)

 

https://www.hortiq.com.au/resource/?resourceNumber=HIQ0000179.

  

Alternatively, these can also be found on Harvest to Home site: https://www.harvesttohome.net.au/fruitmushroomnuts/case-studies/comprehensive-reviews.

 

Some key findings:

 

  • Mushroom value and volume sales have declined this year at –2.6% and –2.3% respectively, with price per kilo remaining the highest at $13.22 this year.

  • All consumer metrics are trending down for mushrooms this year, with no obvious trigger driving declining value sales.

  • Price increases are driving the growth across the competitive set.

  • The number of households buying mushrooms online remains stable this year, there are however less shoppers buying in-store.

  • Sales for loose mushrooms are slightly growing this year, while pre-packed mushrooms are in in decline.

 

The next report will be updated in May 2025.

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Hort Frontiers announcement good news for mushroom growers

This week’s announcement of the world’s first horticulture-focused venture capital fund is a significant boost for the mushroom industry, offering new opportunities to tackle key challenges and enhance growth.

The world’s first horticulture-focused venture capital fund has been launched to help combat the rising costs of farming and declining fruit and vegetable consumption in Australia.

Led by Hort Innovation, the grower-owned not-for-profit research and development corporation in partnership with Australian-headquartered investment firm Artesian, a non-levy co-investment fund of up to $60 million is on offer to high-growth, early-stage startups. The aim is to fast-track innovative products and services from inception to market readiness.

Hort Innovation chief executive officer Brett Fifield said now more than ever, the need to diversify investment approaches and bring onboard new thinking to benefit industry is critical.

“The Australian horticulture industry is facing unprecedented challenges - high production costs, labour issues, extreme weather impacts to name a few,” he said.

“On top of that, Australian fruit and vegetable consumption dropped by up to 8 per cent to June 2023, compared to the year before.

“To address these challenges head on, Hort Innovation has partnered with Artesian to build bigger, bolder investments in innovation and create a flexible investment framework to accelerate research and development.

“By investing in startups, we are enabling fresh ideas, never-before-seen technologies, and new ways of thinking to make growing easier, more sustainable and cost-effective, and lift consumption.”

Artesian will manage the Hort Innovation Venture Fund, with initial investments in eligible businesses to be made over the next five years.

Key Hort Innovation Venture Fund focus areas include:

  • Increasing productivity: Helping Australian growers to become more adaptable, resilient and financially sustainable. This may be in the use of AI to predict what to do and when to do it, new automation options, or the use of satellite technology to guide decision-making.            

  • Sustainability: to deliver new innovations Australian growers of fruit, vegetables, nuts, turf and nursery plants can employ. For example, enhancing monitoring capabilities to optimise water use and viable options to reduce chemical use.

  • Consumption: to drive demand and meet changing consumer preferences and encourage healthy living. For example, naturally breeding produce that is nutrient dense, with a long shelf life while being aesthetically pleasing.

  • Workforce: Opportunities to upskill existing industry participants and expand local career opportunities in horticulture, particularly in the science and technology arenas.

 Artesian CEO Jeremy Colless said the firm was excited about the partnership with Hort Innovation, emphasising its potential to drive impactful investments in cutting-edge technologies that will deliver sustainable, long-term benefits for Australian produce farmers and consumers.

“Delivering the world’s first horticulture-specific venture capital fund with Hort Innovation is a significant milestone and an example of how Artesian works with leading industry, corporate, government and institutional investors to develop tailor made solutions that address innovation challenges,” he said.

Mr Colless highlighted the collaboration as a unique opportunity to elevate productivity and innovation across the agriculture sector, fostering resilience and advancing Australia's position as a leader in sustainable horticulture.

Artesian currently has more than $1.2 billion in assets under management including through technology and venture capital investments across energy transformation, agrifood and natural capital, healthcare and emerging technology segments.

Mushroom grower Georgia Beattie, founder, Bulla Park Mushrooms, praised the programs focus on real outcomes for growers.  

"Frontiers has an unapologetic focus on commercial outcomes and impact for Australian growers. Its approach is inherently open-ended, which is essential for fostering true innovation," she said.

Macadamia grower Henrik Christiansen said the new structure is really valuable for growers to provide feedback on what solutions can be ramped up for commercialisation.

"The industry can choose what we back, and the tech developers we partner with are going to get quality feedback to integrate into solutions. That’s the value Hort Innovation can bring to the equation."

Mushroom grower Georgia Beattie

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MushroomLink Bulletin October 2024

In this edition:

  • NEW ISSUE OF MUSHROOMLINK: The Spring issue is out now

  • THAT’S A WRAP: NZ conference

  • UPDATED WEBSITE: Our updated site makes finding what you need easier

  • MARKETING CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: Missed out? Recording link available to Australian growers

  • MUSHROOM FUND ANNUAL INVESTMENT PLAN: Available to download

  • MUSHROOM HEALTH SCIENCE WEBSITE: Launching this Thursday


Click here to download the bulletin

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MushroomLink Bulletin April 2024

In this edition:

  • Feature article: Mushrooms in health care settings

  • Publication: Supporting mushrooms as a food-based solution to vitamin D deficiency in dietary guidelines

  • Marketing: New strategy to inform FY2025

  • NEW Podcast: Dr Mark Loftus from Sylvan Bioscience

  • Training: Mini series - mushroom farm hygiene 

  • Webinars: Save the date for the mushroom supply chain webinars

  • AMGA Conference 2024

Click here to access the bulletin

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MushroomLink Bulletin March 2024 - Magazine Autumn Issue

In this edition:

  • MushroomLink magazine: Autumn issue out now

  • Feature article: Cold mushrooms are quality mushrooms

  • Marketing: What’s planned in the coming months?

  • Podcasts: Revisit the MushroomLink podcast back catalogue

  • Fact sheet: Actions points to control Sciarid and Phorid flies

  • AMGA conference scholarship 

  • Nuffield scholarships now open

Click here to access the bulletin

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MushroomLink Bulletin February 2024 - FY25 Marketing strategy webinar recording

In this edition:

  • Launch of the 2022/23 Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook

  • Webinar: Catch up on last week's webinar with Monique Emmi

  • Feature article: It’s not easy being green. New advances in Trichoderma research

  • Audio article: Phorid ecology and management

  • Dr Agaricus: What is foaming disease?

  • MushroomLink 2024 publication schedule

Click here to access the bulletin

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MushroomLink Bulletin January 2024 - Marketing webinar

In this edition:

  • Marketing webinar: REGISTRATIONS OPEN

  • New developments from the mushroom SIAP

  • Feature article: Growing mushrooms with AI assistance 

  • Listen: NEW: Audio article - Chemical storage

  • NEW resource: Taking your mushrooms' temperature

  • Research from around the world: New biofilm that improves postharvest quality 

  • ISMS conference with side symposium 

Click here to view the bulletin

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MushroomLink Bulletin November 2023

In this edition:

  • Marketing webinar: Registrations open for the first MushroomLink marketing webinar

  • Marketing campaign: Miguel Maestre on the radio waves

  • Feature article: Bringing mushrooms to centre stage in the Australian Dietary Guidelines

  • Watch and listen: What makes mushrooms so special? Revisit our podcast and webinar with nutritionist and scientist Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore and Dr Damien Belobrajdic

  • Factsheet: Mushroom nutrition and health messages

  • Case study: Monaghan Mushrooms

  • Research from around the world: Mushroom mathematics

Click here to view the bulletin

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MushroomLink Bulletin September 2023

In this edition:

  • Feature: Can mushrooms really help lower our cholesterol?

  • Event wrap: Mushroom production workshop

  • Mushroom Fund Annual Investment Plans 2023/24

  • Podcast: Global perspectives from Erik de Groot

  • Podcast: Geoff Price and the American mushroom industry - part two

  • Resource: MU16003 Fact sheet: Internal Stipe Necrosis

  • Upcoming webinar

  • Shape the future of the mushroom industry - EOIs

  • Horticulture women leadership courses, scholarships open

Click here to download the bulletin

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Project MU22010 – Mushroom International Study Tours – Inbound and Outbound

Part of the in- and outbound International Study Tours project, the inaugural Mushroom Production workshop, facilitated by Erik de Groot, was held in Adelaide and Sydney at the end of August

Figure 1: Robert Tolson at Premier Mushrooms explaining the room-filling procedure and machinery on his farm (Umberto Calvo)

US-based international consultant and mushroom expert Erik de Groot delivered the 2-day workshops to industry members eager to learn.

Elbows deep in compost and mushrooms since his childhood in the Netherlands, Erik’s knowledge and experience range from compost production to harvesting and everything in between, with clients spread across five continents.

With the aim to educate and inspire the Australian mushroom industry and promote collaborative problem solving, attendees were asked to work together in small groups. Participants were split into these groups depending on their role (compost production, growing, harvesting) to encourage conversation within their areas of expertise and generate new ideas and solutions to current issues.

The first day of the workshop focussed on compost production, phase II and III compost, tunnel and growing room filling, and the optimal conditions of the various stages (temperature, humidity, ventilation). The attendees involved in compost production were the most active throughout the first day, while growers and harvest managers were able to better understand the dynamics of the phases that precede their entry into the crop cycle.

Figure 2: Attendees were invited to "have a feel" of good quality peat with adequate moisture (Umberto Calvo)

Day 1 also included a farm visit to Costa Monarto in South Australia and Premier Mushrooms in the Hawkesbury, with the farm staff showing the facilities, machinery, and explaining the various steps of their mushroom production and management.

The second day was centred on growing and harvesting practises to optimise yield and quality, with a particular focus on harvest efficiency and planning.

At the end of the session each group had to elaborate on the actions they were planning on taking back to their farm with the newly acquired knowledge from the workshop.

The event was very well received by all attendees, both thanks to the broad scope of themes and the opportunity to expand their network vertically with people from their own farm and peers across different farms.

The opportunity to network with colleagues from different parts of one’s own workplace was viewed as an important outcome. Communication and collaboration throughout every step of the process, from compost production to growing and harvesting, can have a big impact on the overall result, and ultimately determine the farm’s and farmer’s bottom line.

At the end of the two-day workshop the participants were asked to complete an evaluation and suggestion form, which will assist AMGA as it plans the next events. Attention will be placed on the topics and issues identified by the Australian mushroom industry as the most relevant right now.

Additional resources

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