Making Money with Mushrooms
As a specialty crop, mushrooms are enjoying a unique moment of growth among the other produce that it shares the grocery store shelves with. They are also a perfect crop for the small-scale grower to integrate into current production or to begin growing as an exclusive crop.
Here's a larger stat that can easily be scaled down to the Arizona market that's indicative of the mushroom's continual climb as a highly profitable product. It's from a respected market research firm whose clients include Yahoo!, Volvo, Novo Nordisk, and Google. It's available here.
Here's a larger stat that can easily be scaled down to the Arizona market that's indicative of the mushroom's continual climb as a highly profitable product. It's from a respected market research firm whose clients include Yahoo!, Volvo, Novo Nordisk, and Google. It's available here.
"The mushroom market has grown exponentially in the last few years and this trend is projected to continue. The market was valued at $29,427.92 million in 2013; and at a CAGR [Compounded Annual Growth Rate] of 9.5% from 2014, it is projected to reach $50,034.12 million by 2019."
This is a picture of the world-wide market, but the trends driving this growth are manifest in Arizona as well. They include a "rise in consumer awareness about health and wellness," and the fact that "mushrooms are purchased by 41 percent of American households and offered on menus in 80 percent of restaurants nationwide" (source).
Marketing Mushrooms
One of the unique challenges of marketing and selling mushrooms is that they have a limited shelf-life and can be tricky to transport. The solution to this is operating on a small-scale, local, direct-to-consumer model. Fortunately, mushrooms are a great draw at farmer's markets (another realm that is experiencing notable growth), especially in Arizona where it isn't all that common to see a bountiful harvest of oyster mushrooms.
Just as some food for thought:
Just as some food for thought:
This map from a USDA study shows the change in the amount of direct-to-consumer (i.e. farmer's market) sales over the last few years. If one looks at our corner of the southwest, there is an awful lot of green. The majority of Arizona has experienced significant growth in this area.
Here's another:
Here's another:
The study from which these graphics are taken is available here. Once again, Arizona is showing a pretty significant market in direct-to-consumer sales, even compared to many other states around the country. This is certainly an excellent marketing opportunity for growers who provide a product (Arizona-grown mushrooms) that is in a huge growth period and is challenging to transport long distances (which poses a problem in creating an economy of scale).
For the small-scale grower, even a micro-grow space can yield a worthwhile gross income. In a 100 square foot area, a grower could produce as much as 2,500 lbs. of mushrooms a year (source). If sold to a wholesale outlet for the reasonable price of $6 a pound, that's a gross revenue of $15,000. If sold direct-to-consumer at a farmer's market (where oyster mushrooms can go for as much as $12 a pound) the higher-end of potential gross revenue is around $30,000.
For the small-scale grower, even a micro-grow space can yield a worthwhile gross income. In a 100 square foot area, a grower could produce as much as 2,500 lbs. of mushrooms a year (source). If sold to a wholesale outlet for the reasonable price of $6 a pound, that's a gross revenue of $15,000. If sold direct-to-consumer at a farmer's market (where oyster mushrooms can go for as much as $12 a pound) the higher-end of potential gross revenue is around $30,000.
