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River Valley Kitchens

Eric Rose runs the show and he's good people. River Valley Kitchens is, I'm sure, linked to a couple times on the site and well worth a visit, both on the net and in person. Eric took me on, working with him at the Farmer's Market this past season. I worked three markets for him and vouch for his product and character. If you're in the midwest, get in touch and stop by the farm -- they have amazing food and again, great people. He's trying to do the right thing and I tip my hat to him: the real McCoy.

Market Analysis

Mushroom species found for sale:

  • Shiitake
  • Oyster
  • Morel
  • Portobello
  • White button
  • Cremini
  • Chanterelle
  • Lobster
  • Maitake
  • Cauliflower
  • Black Trumpet
  • Porcini
  • Hedgehog
  • Yellowfoot Chanterelle
  • Enoki
  • Beech

Pricing at Retail Locations

In-store visits, observation, market research and conversations with produce buyers (the last primarily at Whole Foods locations around the country) with a focus on gauging interest level, demand, and pricing yielded the following summary observations about expected price per pound:

  • Shiitake: retails around $11-18/lb; purchased at ~$6/lb, variable with quality
  • Tree Oyster: (Commonly found alongside shiitake): also retails ~$10/lb; purchase ~$5/lb
  • King Oyster: 4 oz. packages retail at $4.98 each ($19.92/lb); wholesale projected conservatively= $7/lb

Identified Competitors

  • Midsummer Exotics
  • Mycopia
  • Green giant
  • Gourmet’s
  • Phillips Gourmet
  • Texas Fresh
  • Giorgio
  • Bon Campo – (dried)
  • Mr. Mushroom
  • Havista (dried)

We do not seek to compete with the primary market players until we have developed scaled capacity. Mana Mushrooms is actively cultivating relationships with multinational corporations to prepare for this stage of business development. Our vision includes helping interested market leaders improve their systems design to better leverage production capital and arable land productivity in the United States. Exotic edible mushrooms represent a growing market space with excellent localized demand. The short shelf life gives local producers an upper hand and our drying process will allow us to compete in global markets with competitive advantage.

The business is one that lends itself to developing relationships with one’s customer base, cultivating to meet niche market demands for a high value product. It is common for restaurants to pay upwards of $20 per pound for top quality hard-to-find exotics. Regional development will secure stability of demand.

Mycopia & Mr. Mushroom, Phillips

These three companies are found in the retail section at Whole Foods in the new England area. Mycopia is located in California. Mr. Mushroom grows in Pennsylvania and packages in New York. Phillips is one of the largest mushroom cultivators in the United States and is also in Pennsylvania, the largest specialty (non-white button) grower.

Mana Mushrooms intends to compete with these companies for shelf space in local retail locations. The market tells us that our local, sustainable model stands us in good stead to compete, as well as the increased freshness / relatively longer shelf life advantage of being local. Personal conversations with produce buyers also confirm that our price targets are in-line with wholesale market rates. Our competitors face cross-country shipping costs, which gives us further competitive advantage. As sustainable agriculture, organic and local become the hottest buzzwords of the fastest growing market niche in agriculture, we will capitalize on these trends to drive sales. The cutting edge best practices (ZERI and IF&WMS) give our product a great story, which has strong appeal in the high end restaurant market. Mycopia and Mr. Mushroom dominate the exotic representation on shelves with Phillips presenting cremini, portabello, and other agaric varieties; we will not be competing with them, directly.

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