The lowly mushroom is emerging as a secret weapon for profit-hungry grocers.
Supermarkets are trying to lure shoppers with pricier exotic varieties ranging from king oysters to enokis and cinnamon caps. The gradual shift to specialty mushrooms from traditional white-button types is driven by retailers’ bid to cash in on a growing number of new Canadians who seek out familiar products and foodies looking for something different.
Local mushroom producers are responding with higher end, laboratory-grown mushrooms and wild varieties or conventional compost-based ones cultivated in dark spaces. They’re touting them as highly nutritional, calorie friendly and a vegetarian’s dream. Grocers are stocking as many as 30 or more different kinds of mushrooms in their produce sections, banking on them to help draw shoppers from the less lucrative packaged goods aisles.
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