The edible mushroom industry continues to be affected by continued lockdowns and gourmet closures. "Mushroom consumption is clearly shifting from gourmet food to food retailing," said Karl Heinzmeier, founder and CEO of mushroom wholesaler. As the company is very focused on gourmet food, it is currently recording a considerable loss in sales. But in the long run, experts expect strong growth, especially in the field of cultivated mushrooms.
Shortly before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, Meyer decided to enter the food retail market in addition to regional restaurant owners and specialty retailers. “Especially for chanterelles. We were able to achieve good sales performance in the last quarter because the marketing window was between the two lockdowns-around May. Starting in October, when the second lockdown started, sales were usually Suddenly drop."
Meier headquarters in Eschbach/Photo: Meier LLC.
For mushroom wholesalers, apart from chanterelles, there is no problem in supplying cultivated mushrooms to food retailers. "Nowadays, cultivated mushrooms-such as shiitake mushrooms-are mainly shipped directly from large producers to supermarkets. On the other hand, wild mushrooms mainly reach food retailers through middlemen. For this you need specialized importers," explains Meyer .
Promoting regional cultivation of high-quality mushrooms Since the establishment of the company in 1999, Meyer has been focusing on importing high-quality chanterelles and porcini mushrooms. Nevertheless, in recent years, locally grown high-quality mushrooms have become more and more important. "Until recently, Korean king trumpet mushrooms were much cheaper than German products. However, due to the lack of air transport capacity during the Corona period, logistics costs and the consequent increase in the price of imported goods, this is the reason for the comparison of price differences."
Mushroom traders strive to provide German goods where possible, and they have also seen increasing consumer demand for locally grown exotic mushrooms. "Trends are good for us; especially the younger generation is increasingly wanting to eat healthy and vegetarian food. Unfortunately, many consumers still only know about mushrooms and pleurotus. In our region, the situation is fine, but in other parts of Germany, people do Need to be told more."
Cold Storage/Picture: Meier LLC
Regional mushroom distribution About two years ago, Meier LLC moved into a new company headquarters in Eschbach with a total capacity of approximately 800 square meters. Since then, the company hopes to continue to maintain its position as a reliable and professional service provider for regional wholesale and retail trade. "This is why we have almost given up selling other fruits and vegetables. In this season, we only sell asparagus from growers in selected areas. But this is just a sideline and we can make up the gap."
More information: Meier GmbH Karlheinz Meier Biengener Str. 5 79427 Eschbach Tel 07634 – 350 98 50 info@meierpilze.de www.meierpilze.de
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