Fungi Friday's - January 14th, 2022
Issue #19
Why mushrooms will be a super powered food in 2022
People are finally waking up in a big way to the idea that mushrooms are going to have a huge resurgence over the coming years, so much so that the New York Times have recently named them “ingredient of the year” for 2022. And while many people are familiar with utilizing mushrooms in popular foods such as omelets, pizza toppings and soups, what they might not be aware of is that there is so much more coming in the world of “mushroom tech”. That right, there’s even a name for it… the all encompassing technology taking advantage of the many virtues of mushrooms within food products!
In many recipes, mushrooms are both essential and discreet, providing key flavors but not upstaging other ingredients. And they're having a moment as the world market for mushrooms is booming. According to research and analysis firm Technavio, sales of mushrooms are expected to grow by over 18 billion dollars by 2025. Indeed, companies have decided to use it in all sorts of ways, not just in ordinary recipes, but in a host of food innovations dedicated to preserving our health.
Mushrooms are rich in vitamin C, fiber, selenium and potassium... From the top of its cap to its stalk, a mushroom contains a cocktail of nutritional treasures capable of reducing inflammation and maintaining cardiovascular health by helping combat high blood pressure. An analytical study by the international firm Data Bridge Market Research even refers to them as a medicinal ingredient, which could feed a specific market whose growth is estimated at 9.85% by 2027.
And for all of these reasons, and many more, we keep seeing more and more use cases pop up around the usage of mushrooms in different health products. For example, in England, mushrooms are being used for brewing a range of beers to take advantage of the medicinal virtues of varieties such as reishi, lion's mane and chaga, all of which we’ve covered here before.
In the United States, the So Good So You brand has used so-called adaptogenic mushrooms, which are said to be able to reduce the effects of stress, to launch a new range of shots , those drinks packaged in small bottles, promoted as energy providers.
And finally, another company we’ve mentioned time and time again, Four Sigmatic has recently released a creamer made from mushrooms, to go along with their popular mushroom based coffee. The Los Angeles-based brand promises that, when you take your next coffee break, you'll be able to control your stress better and even make your skin glow thanks to this powder... the whole nine yards!
Psychedelics And MDMA Have Been Approved For Medical Use In Canada
Those of you that have been around for a hot minute know that we here enjoy monitoring the legislation front on when it comes to psilocybin around the world, so it was exciting to see this article pop up documenting positive momentum with our neighbors from the north. That’s right, psychedelics have officially been approved for medical use in Canada!
Psilocybin, a.k.a. magic mushrooms, and MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, were previously only allowed in palliative circumstances or if someone was granted a federal exemption from the health minister. However just recently, Canada's legislation has been amended to permit the use of these substances 'beyond palliative care' with people with 'life-threatening mental illnesses'.
The idea was first floated in December 2020, sparking a two month consultation period with the public to gauge their thoughts and it was overwhelmingly supportive. Under the newly introduced system, a physician can now prescribe the drugs in a controlled, individualized fashion, according to the Calgary Herald.
This positive development comes on the back of numerous studies showing how psychedelics can help people with mental health issues. One research project from Harvard even found that between 60-80 percent of people with depression or PTSD had evidence of remission after taking one of these two drugs.
According to one physician, "It's a movement to legalization, which is fantastic.... If there's ever been a more exciting time in psychotherapy, it was decades ago.” which no doubt is very exciting. Canada is one of the first dominos to fall, but there will undoubtedly be more… and we here at Fungi Friday’s will be here to tell you about it!
MycoWorks, making leather from fungi, closes $125M to scale production
Circling back to yet another story in the world of fungi that we’ve touched on before, MycoWorks, a company making a fungal-based biomaterial to replace leather, brought in a fresh, $125 million dollar round of funding in their Series C financing — to fund a production plant for scaling the manufacture of its flagship product Reishi.
MycoWorks CEO Matt Scullin is touting his company’s Fine Mycelium process as “a biotechnology platform that engineers mycelium to grow the only made-to-order, made-to-specification luxury material.”
While their first partnership was announced with Hermès in early 2021, MycoWorks now has contracts in place with a range of major global luxury brands. Scullin has gone as far as to claim that if it is a luxury brand you have heard of, the company is probably partnering with them. And despite its initial workings in the luxury space, MycoWorks is also aiming to move toward mass scale production that would enable products at a range of price points. The funding will enable the company to do this, Scullin said.
The company’s new production plant will be built in Union, S.C. and comes on the heels of a successful pilot plant in Emeryville, California. That’s where MycoWorks was able to validate its tray-based process and demonstrate scalability of the Fine Mycelium process when it met a production milestone of 10,000 trays processed. The plant is expected to be operational in the next 12 months and will initially be able to produce volumes of several million square feet of Fine Mycelium per year.
To meet the demand for sustainable goods driven by consumers, Scullin also plans to invest the financing into expanding the team, R&D and technology development. The company received thousands of inbound requests from brands to be selected to be the first to use Fine Mycelium.
“What MycoWorks has achieved with its Fine Mycelium platform is not just a breakthrough, it is a revolution for industries that are ripe for change,” said David Siminoff, general partner at Prime Movers Lab, in a written statement. “This opportunity is massive and we believe that unrivaled product quality combined with a proprietary scalable manufacturing process has MycoWorks poised to serve as the backbone of the new materials revolution.”
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