12.01.09
The agency recruited 10 people to follow a five-week healthy eating plan, which included eating mushrooms instead of meat in four otherwise identical meals a week. The volunteers lost an average of 12.71 pounds, with the top dieter shedding a stone and a half.
An exclusive was negotiated with the Daily Express, which went big with the story on 29 December. This was quickly followed up with stories in The Daily Star, Daily Telegraph online and Tesco online. The story and supporting mushroom diet recipes were also placed with the Press Association, which issued it to all regional newspapers (20 stories have so far appeared) and the agency is now placing further coverage with the consumer magazines.
The diet trial was commissioned following research from America which involved 54 people replacing meat with mushrooms over an eight-day trial. This research suggested that under 10 mushroom meal swaps would cut one pound in body weight.
Mustard Communications MD Wendy Akers commented: “We brought on board leading nutritionist Sarah Schenker to develop the diet and held weekly weigh-ins to keep the volunteers motivated. We also offered a hair, beauty and clothes make over as a prize for the top three volunteers. But the biggest incentive of all was for the dieters to look and feel better.”
In total the 10 volunteers lost 127 pounds or just over nine stone.
Nutritionists think this could be a new way to tackle Britain’s obesity problem.
The full UK mushroom diet can be found on the Mushroom Bureau’s website
www.mushroom-uk.com
Mushroom Diet Makes the News
Mustard Communications kicked off the New Year with a PR splash for its client The Mushroom Bureau after undertaking a study which positioned mushrooms as the latest weapon in the battle of the bulge.The agency recruited 10 people to follow a five-week healthy eating plan, which included eating mushrooms instead of meat in four otherwise identical meals a week. The volunteers lost an average of 12.71 pounds, with the top dieter shedding a stone and a half.
An exclusive was negotiated with the Daily Express, which went big with the story on 29 December. This was quickly followed up with stories in The Daily Star, Daily Telegraph online and Tesco online. The story and supporting mushroom diet recipes were also placed with the Press Association, which issued it to all regional newspapers (20 stories have so far appeared) and the agency is now placing further coverage with the consumer magazines.
The diet trial was commissioned following research from America which involved 54 people replacing meat with mushrooms over an eight-day trial. This research suggested that under 10 mushroom meal swaps would cut one pound in body weight.
Mustard Communications MD Wendy Akers commented: “We brought on board leading nutritionist Sarah Schenker to develop the diet and held weekly weigh-ins to keep the volunteers motivated. We also offered a hair, beauty and clothes make over as a prize for the top three volunteers. But the biggest incentive of all was for the dieters to look and feel better.”
In total the 10 volunteers lost 127 pounds or just over nine stone.
Nutritionists think this could be a new way to tackle Britain’s obesity problem.
The full UK mushroom diet can be found on the Mushroom Bureau’s website
www.mushroom-uk.com
