Mushroom Council partners with Weight Watchers.

The Mushroom Council will partner with Weight Watchers, the world's leading weight management partner, as the official Pick of the Season sponsor from July through September 2008. The Council's Pick of the Season program is designed to support the Treasure Health, Treasure Mushrooms marketing platform by highlighting Weight Watchers' endorsement of mushrooms as a healthy food.

As part of the communication, one of mushrooms' hidden treasures will be highlighted--the fact that members can eat up to a two-cup serving of mushrooms, which has a POINTS[R] value of 0, and still stay on the plan. The POINTS[R] trademark helps guide the 5.7 million Weight Watchers members and health-conscious shoppers when grocery shopping.

In order to maximize the effect of the Weight Watchers Pick of the Season program on Americans, the Council is supporting it at a national level and asks mushroom growers to encourage the program locally--mainly by adding the Weight Watchers Pick of the Season logo on-pack and talking with local retailers.

Pick of the Season Program

* The Program will be launched nationally through several promotional activities. Following is what you will see starting in July:

* Three months of in-store radio advertising (July 1-September 30), along with one cycle of News America POS (August 11-September 7), which will reach millions of Americans.

* Weight Watchers will produce 1 million recipe cards featuring four Mushroom Council-produced recipes--"Mini Mushroom Burgers," "Tilapia with Mushrooms, Olives and Tomatoes," "Turkey Mushroom Soup" and "Mushroom Chicken Piccata." Recipe cards will be distributed to Weight Watchers members in 40,000 meeting rooms nationwide. The industry can print additional recipe cards at a reduced cost ($39.50 for 1,000)--a great tool for in-store or consumer events, but can only be used during the July through September timeframe.

* The Council is actively reaching out to national foodservice chains, specifically Applebee's, to promote mushroom Weight Watchers menu items.

* A Weight Watchers' featured story, highlighting the Mushroom Council and Weight Watchers recipes, will be placed on a recipe wire distributed to more than 3,000 newspaper food editors nationwide. Additionally, more than 10,000 newspapers will receive information and recipes through a pre-packaged news release.

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* The Weight Watchers Web site's "Market Fresh" section, which reports on seasonal produce and offers recipe and nutritional information, will spotlight mushrooms throughout the program.

* Weight Watchers will include mushroom recipes and information in its official staff newsletter that reaches more than 18,000 meeting room staff members.

What Can The Industry Do?

Previous Weight Watchers sponsors shared that the program's success hinges on a high level of commitment from the industry. The most important thing the industry can do is place the Weight Watchers Pick of the Season and 0 POINTS[R] on packaging, advertising or in stores. The right to use the Weight Watchers logo on pack is a significant portion of the program, and sends an influential message about mushrooms' nutritional value to all Americans, whether or not they are Weight Watchers members.

Whenever the trademarks are used, the following must accompany it somewhere on the promotional material or package (note: there is no standard size for the copyright language, but it must be legible): WEIGHT WATCHERS PICK OF THE SEASON and POINTS[R] are the trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. and are used under license. [c] 2008 Weight Watchers International, Inc. All rights reserved.

Another communication touch point is the option to place the "Mushroom Scramble Mug" on the pack. The tasty recipe is only 2 POINTS[R] per serving and encourages Americans to eat mushrooms for breakfast with a quick, simple technique.

Council members can encourage retailers to promote the Pick of the Season program. To support efforts, the Mushroom Council recently distributed a Retail Sell Sheet for industry use. Additional copies are available by request. For more information about the Weight Watchers Pick of the Season program or to order recipes cards, contact Cheryl Abbate at the Mushroom Council, 408/432-7210.

Weight Watchers International, Inc. is the world's leading provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of company-owned and franchise operations. Weight Watchers holds more than 40,000 weekly meetings where members receive group support and education about healthy eating patterns, behavior modification and physical activity. Weight Watchers started its Pick of the Season program in 2004 to promote the health benefits the health benefits of fresh produce. Since its inception, the quarterly spotlight on seasonal fruits and vegetables has touted the benefits of carrots, watermelon, bananas, onions and similar fresh "picks."

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RELATED ARTICLE: Weight Watchers/Mushroom Council Recipes

Recipe courtesy of the Mushroom Council and mushroominfo.com Mushroom Scramble Mug Non-stick cooking spray 1 cup white button mushrooms, sliced 1/4 teaspoon salt Pinch freshly ground black pepper 1 whole egg 1 egg white 1 slice fat-free American cheese, torn in strips 1 tomato or red pepper, diced (optional) Whole wheat English muffin (optional) Prep. Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 2 minutes Serves: 1

Lightly spray the inside of a microwaveable mug with non-stick cooking spray, place mushrooms in mug and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and microwave for 1 minute. Let rest 30 seconds and drain any excess liquid.

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Add whole egg and egg white to mug and mix well with a fork. Add cheese and tomato or red pepper (if desired) and microwave for 1 minute, stirring halfway through. Let rest 30 seconds to allow eggs to finish cooking. Enjoy in the mug or on a toasted whole wheat English muffin. Mini Mushroom Burgers 2 Portabella mushrooms, stem removed 1/4 cup light balsamic vinaigrette Salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 small high-fiber whole grain dinner rolls 8 slices red onion 8 slices tomato Prep. Time: 5 minutes Marinate Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 8 minutes Serves: 4

Place Portabellas and vinaigrette in a large zip top bag. Zip and lightly rub the vinaigrette into the mushrooms. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

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Remove mushrooms from bag, drain and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place the mushrooms on the grill gill side down and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and continue to grill until mushroom is almost cooked through, about 4 more minutes.

Remove from pan and drain mushrooms on paper towel, gill side down. Cut each mushroom into quarters and place on buns. Top with onion and tomato and serve.