Mycoprotein specialist Mycorena and Spain’s plant-based street food brand RIP Foods are collaborating to develop mycelium-based street food appealing to mainstream customers.
Today, Mycorena announced their first joint creation using mycoprotein — a vegan kofta inspired by Middle Eastern flavors. The product is set to launch soon in the Netherlands at plant-based restaurant Karma Kebab.
“Mycorena and RIP Foods share many traits, working tirelessly with R&D and strongly focusing on innovation and technology to improve taste and texture that will please flexitarians and meat eaters,” said the Finnish company.
First step in the Mediterranean market
Based in Barcelona, RIP raised €625,000 in a pre-seed funding round last year. Its retailer and food service portfolio includes plant-based gyozas and various flavors of bao, skewers, spring rolls, and katsu. Recently, the company partnered with GoTiger to deliver its vegan Asian street food in Berlin and Potsdam.
“The goal is to advance the overall Mediterranean market with more sustainable products, proving that the future of food can be both delicious and vegan,” added Mycorena.
Promoting mycoprotein
Mycorena is driving its international expansion by enabling partners to develop tailored products for specific markets to promote the adoption of mycoprotein in the food industry.
In Q3 2022, Mycorena and Finland’s Rebl Eats launched ready meals in the Finnish market, which shortly became a bestseller. Today, Promyc-powered products are readily available in over 100 stores in Finland, selling more than 3000 products monthly. The collaboration is now broadening as Rebl Eats is taking further steps to expand to the French market, said Mycorena.
Promyc-based product sales reportedly total nearly 60,000 servings across different markets over the last few months. The company has plans to expand its production with the first large-scale commercial factory that is already under construction.
“We are excited to collaborate with these fast-moving companies with similar mindsets as Mycorena. It’s a conscious choice to work with innovative, trendy and aggressively expanding brands to push the industry forward,” said Ramkumar Nair, CEO of Mycorena.
