The UK's first mushroom brand is being launched to capitalise on the surge in foraging and home cooking.
The Found! brand, supplied by Produce Global Solutions, will include a range of fresh and dried mushroom products. Two lines will be launched in October, with a number of yet-to-be-confirmed multiple and specialist retailers expected to stock them.
The fresh chanterelle [rsp: £2.99] and dried porcini [rsp: £1.99] lines are due to be followed by baby shiitake, anise, king oyster and enoki in the fresh range, as well as dried morels and black trumpet.
Complementary products, including mushroom-growing and cooking kits, will also be launched.
"There's been a lot of good press around foraging and people looking for natural foods," said MD Mark Haynes. "But although they were available in speciality retailers, there weren't wild mushrooms for general consumers."
The brand would help grow the £330m mushroom category at the top end without cannibalising own-label sales, he said. Mushrooms would be sourced from their "natural environments" around the world such as Spain, Portugal, central Europe, and potentially South Africa, China and Korea, he added.
If the brand proved successful, it could be rolled out across other fresh produce items such as asparagus and garlic, Haynes said.
Sales could hit £500k within the first year and £2m to £3m within three years, with further growth as other produce lines were added, he said.
Former Innocent commercial director Giles Brook, who is launching a range of baked fruit snacks, is helping develop Found!'s brand strategy. The brand will be unveiled at the upcoming Speciality & Fine Food Fair, with further consumer and trade show appearances and PR to follow.
PGS was formed in 2003 and has supplied a range of own-label closed cup and Portobello mushrooms to Tesco since 2007, as well as speciality lines such as salad variety anise.
The Found! brand, supplied by Produce Global Solutions, will include a range of fresh and dried mushroom products. Two lines will be launched in October, with a number of yet-to-be-confirmed multiple and specialist retailers expected to stock them.
The fresh chanterelle [rsp: £2.99] and dried porcini [rsp: £1.99] lines are due to be followed by baby shiitake, anise, king oyster and enoki in the fresh range, as well as dried morels and black trumpet.
Complementary products, including mushroom-growing and cooking kits, will also be launched.
"There's been a lot of good press around foraging and people looking for natural foods," said MD Mark Haynes. "But although they were available in speciality retailers, there weren't wild mushrooms for general consumers."
The brand would help grow the £330m mushroom category at the top end without cannibalising own-label sales, he said. Mushrooms would be sourced from their "natural environments" around the world such as Spain, Portugal, central Europe, and potentially South Africa, China and Korea, he added.
If the brand proved successful, it could be rolled out across other fresh produce items such as asparagus and garlic, Haynes said.
Sales could hit £500k within the first year and £2m to £3m within three years, with further growth as other produce lines were added, he said.
Former Innocent commercial director Giles Brook, who is launching a range of baked fruit snacks, is helping develop Found!'s brand strategy. The brand will be unveiled at the upcoming Speciality & Fine Food Fair, with further consumer and trade show appearances and PR to follow.
PGS was formed in 2003 and has supplied a range of own-label closed cup and Portobello mushrooms to Tesco since 2007, as well as speciality lines such as salad variety anise.
No comments yet