Mycorena

Company News

Mycorena Files for Bankruptcy, Seeks New Ownership to Continue Pioneering Mycoprotein Ingredients

July 16, 2024

In a sad turn of events, Sweden’s Mycorena, a producer of mycoprotein, has filed for bankruptcy after facing significant financial challenges. The company says it made considerable efforts to overcome these difficulties, including pausing the construction of a large-scale facility and pivoting to a strategic business model. The mycoprotein pioneer also announced that it aims to restructure under new ownership to preserve and build upon its innovations and market presence. According to the leadership statements, there’s optimism that the company can overcome its current challenges and continue its trajectory as a leader in the mycoprotein market. CEO and founder Ramkumar Nair states: “This was not an easy decision, but we believe it is a necessary step to restructure our business and protect the value that …

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Swedish foodtech startup Mycorena announces the discontinuation of its large-scale factory project in Sweden for scaling its mycoprotien Promyc

Mycorena Pauses Large-Scale Mycoprotein Facility: “Investors are Hesitant to Back Projects with Heavy Capital Requirements”

June 24, 2024June 13, 2024

Pioneering mycelium-based solutions company Mycorena announces it is discontinuing its large-scale factory project in Sweden for Promyc, its flagship mycoprotein ingredient. Planned in 2022 and designed with Tetra Pak, the large-scale production factory aimed to supply the then “booming” plant-based market with volumes of mycoprotein: 5,000 tons by the end of 2023, with a total production volume of up to 100,000 tons in multiple stages. Despite significant growth and raising over €35 million in funding, including a €24 million Series A round, Mycorena says it has faced changing market conditions such as reduced investor interest in capital-intensive projects within the food tech industry and a slowdown in the plant-based meat market. The company says it attempted to raise Series B funding with SEB and Pareto …

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biomass-fermentation

scale up

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Mycorena receives European Space Agency funding

Mycorena Receives Funding From European Space Agency to Develop Food for Space Missions

April 22, 2024April 22, 2024

Swedish mycoprotein producer Mycorena has received funding from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Discovery Programme, in recognition of its products’ potential for use on long-distance space missions. Mycoprotein is sustainable, rich in essential nutrients, and said to support muscle health and overall wellbeing. Furthermore, it can be produced in a closed-circuit system using byproducts and sidestreams generated during space travel. According to Moritz Fontaine, Discovery & Preparation Officer at ESA, this idea to optimize resource efficiency is “highly interesting for space applications”. The system could also have psychological benefits, providing astronauts with a familiar meat-like texture rather than the “tasteless paste” currently offered on space missions. An initial prototype of the system was one of the winners of Phase 2 of NASA’s 2023 Deep Space …

Image: Scelta / vegconomist

Ingredients

These 3 Companies Are Creating Healthy Fat Alternatives From Mushrooms

December 6, 2023

Today, we look into three companies using mushrooms to create healthy fats for plant-based foods. Interest in mushrooms continues to grow among consumers and manufacturers since these wonders of nature, neither plants nor animals, offer exceptional functionality, encompassing supplements, textiles, meat alternatives, beverages, colorings, and now fats. Some mushrooms have a high lipid content, composed of unsaturated fatty acids, that can be used to replace vegetable and saturated fats. According to Brazilian researchers, edible mushrooms worldwide contain linoleic, linolenic, and oleic acids (some more than others), making them an important essential fatty acid source for a healthy diet. The global mushroom market is expected to reach $115.8 billion by 2030, and mushrooms were named Ingredient of the Year by The New York Times in 2022. 1. Scelta Mushrooms Scelta Mushrooms, …

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Fat

mushroom

Mycorena partners with Atria Sweden to commercialise mycoprotein-based products

Mycorena Partners With Leading Meat Company to Commercialise Mycoprotein-Based Products

September 22, 2023

Swedish mycoprotein producer Mycorena has announced it is partnering with leading animal meat supplier Atria Sweden to launch a range of mycoprotein-based products. The meat alternatives will be made with Mycorena’s mycoprotein ingredient, Promyc, which is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids. The protein is made using a proprietary fungal fermentation process. Atria Sweden — a leading producer of sausages, hamburgers, cold cuts, and other meat products for the retail and food service sectors — has entered into the collaboration with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint. As part of the partnership, Mycorena will scale up its production of Promyc, while Atria will use its product development capabilities to create a range of meat alternatives. “Mycoprotein is an exciting new Swedish …

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Austrian startup Revo Foods introduces THE FILET, a mycoprotein-based salmon filet.

Image courtesy of Revo Foods

Products & Launches

Revo Foods’ Mycoprotein-Based Salmon Filet Becomes First 3D-Printed Alternative to Hit Supermarket Shelves

September 12, 2023

Austrian startup Revo Foods introduces THE FILET, a mycoprotein-based salmon filet that will be available from the 14th of September at REWE’s famous vegan superstore, the 200-metre square Billa Pflanzilla. According to Revo Foods, it is the first-ever 3D-printed product available in supermarkets worldwide. Revo Foods and Swedish startup Mycorena collaborated to develop the 3D-printable mycoprotein, utilizing Mycorena’s Promyc ingredient. The project received €1.5 million from Swedish innovation agency Vinnova, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, and the cross-border EU funding program Eurostars. With its primary ingredient being mycoprotein, THE FILET is a clean-label product that is said to offer remarkable nutritional values, such as high protein content and Omega-3. The product has received a Nutriscore of A in recognition of its nutritional benefits. Founded in 2020, Revo Foods is pioneering large-volume 3D food …

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Fermentation

Mycorena and RIP Foods Partner Up to Create Mycoprotein-Based Street Food

June 8, 2023

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 …

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Mycorena and RIP Foods Partner Up to Create Mycoprotein-Based Street Food

March 6, 2024June 8, 2023

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Mycorena's clean-label fungi-based fat is commercially available

Fermentation

Mycorena to Launch Clean-Label Fungi-Based Fat Verified by Juicy Marbles

April 11, 2023April 6, 2023

Swedish food tech company Mycorena has announced that it is ready to launch its clean-label fungi-based fat commercially after successfully developing a full-scale process. The new fat ingredient will be released under the brand name Mycolein, joining Mycorena’s mycoprotein brand, Promyc. In 2021, Mycorena announced the “world’s first” fungi-based fat solution, saying it could mimic animal fat’s behaviour and sensory qualities to enhance plant-based food products’ taste and structural properties. The first fungi-stabilised fat “Recognising the challenges faced by our partner food companies in sourcing a stable fat ingredient, in 2021, we launched the first fungi-stabilised fat as a prototype product. And now, after nearly 1.5 years of development, we have successfully created a full-scale process for producing the product and are fully prepared to launch it commercially,” said …

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Fat

Company News

Mycorena Develops System for Brewing Protein in Space Using Algae and Fungi

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023

Swedish food tech company Mycorena announces that its innovative circular system for brewing protein in space using algae and fungi has been selected as a finalist of the Deep Space Food Challenge (DSFC). According to the company, out of 300 teams from 32 countries, only 11 remain in the competition. The DSFC is a competition coordinated by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency to develop technologies that enable resource-efficient food production for long-term space missions. Additionally, it aims to accelerate innovation to create sustainable food production systems that produce nutritious, safe, and delicious food. Algae-fungi circular solution Mycorena developed a technology for the competition that uses fungi and algae in a closed-circuit system called AFCiS to optimize resource efficiency. It involves bioreactors and food production modules, …

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Printed Technology

Revo Foods and Mycorena Receive €1.5M to Develop 3D-Printable Mycoprotein

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023

Austria’s Revo Foods and Sweden’s Mycorena have received a €1.5 million grant for their joint project of developing 3D-printable mycoprotein. The funds come from Swedish innovation agency Vinnova, the Austrian Research Promotion Agency, and cross-border EU funding program Eurostars. Applications were highly competitive, so the companies’ success demonstrates that there is significant interest in innovative mycoprotein solutions. “Getting this recognition from such an attractive and competitive initiative like Eurostars further emphasises that the technology we are developing is really an important part of creating a sustainable food system,” said Paulo Teixeira, Chief Innovation Officer at Mycorena. Whole-cut alt seafood First announced in October, the joint project is working on technologies and processes to create mycoprotein suitable for additive food manufacturing. It has a particular focus …

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Image courtesy Revo Foods

Printed Technology

Mycorena & Revo Foods to Develop “Whole New Realistic Meat-Like Product Segment” For Alt Seafood

October 13, 2022October 13, 2022

Mycoprotein specialist Mycorena and 3D printed seafood expert Revo Foods have begun a research collaboration to develop a mycoprotein suitable for 3D printing alt seafood products. The printable mycoprotein will have a soft fibrous texture, light colour and neutral taste, making it particularly suitable for seafood alternatives, according to the companies. Says Austria’s Revo Foods: “Being able to combine the meat-like properties of mycoprotein with the unrestricted shaping possibilities of 3D food printing, a whole new realistic meat-like product segment can be created.” Revo Foods is developing new food processing technologies, including 3D tech, for plant-based seafood products including its salmon and tuna alternatives which are already seeing retail success around Europe. Most recently, Revo announced the Austrian launch of new products Revo Gravlax, Revo …

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Promyc

Company News

Rebl Eats and Mycorena Partner to Make Alt Meat More Accessible in Northern Europe

October 6, 2022

Rebl Eats of Finland and Mycorena of Sweden have entered into a new partnership to make meat substitutes more accessible throughout Northern Europe. As part of the new partnership, Rebl’s product developers and chefs have developed new additions to the ready meals category: fresh ready meals with Mycorena’s flagship product, a sustainable and natural mushroom-based ingredient called Promyc. The products launched by Rebl Eats are branded with Promyc and have already generated great demand after an exclusive launch in 15 selected shops in Helsinki, Finland, according to the company. Multi market launch In the next phase of the collaboration, the products will be launched in the Swedish market, followed by the rest of the Nordic region and then the rest of Europe. Also on board …

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Ready Meals

rebl eats

People

Mycorena Hires Quorn Commercial Director to Drive Growth

October 3, 2022

Swedish foodtech company Mycorena onboards Bernhard Ilerup as Head of Commercial Growth to support the company’s ongoing growth process. Bernhard Ilerup comes directly from a management position at Quorn Foods, a long-time market leader in mycoproteins. In his new role as Head of Commercial Growth at Mycorena, Ilerup is tasked with taking the company to a new level on the commercial side. With the goal of becoming the market leader in mycoproteins, the company is nearing the start of commercial production at the new Promyc production plant 3P, scheduled for 2023. Recently, there have been reports of a decline in the market for plant-based products, however, the market for mycoprotein is still on the upswing and is expected to continue to increase due to its …

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Peas of Heaven Launches Frozen Pea Protein Hybrids in Collaboration With Mycorena

September 29, 2022September 28, 2022

Peas of Heaven announces the launch of a “totally unique range of products” combining pea protein and Mycorena’s mycoprotein ingredient Promyc. Peas of Heaven is known for its fresh pea-based meat alternatives ranging from burgers meatballs, bacon, mince, and various types of sausage, which sold out within 24 hours upon the opening of the brand’s online store last spring. Mycorena is a food tech that works with fungi technology to create its mycelium-based protein Promyc. Earlier this year, the two Swedish brands developed The Converter, the first hybrid vegan sausage made using pea protein and Promyc. Following its success, the companies again joined forces to create this newly announced range of frozen products. Julia Granung, head of product development at Peas of Heaven, said: “We see …

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Charles Brand, Tetra Pak Executive Vice President for Processing Solutions & Equipment, & Dr. Ramkumar Nair, Founder and CEO, Mycorena ©Tetra Pak

Tetra Pak Collaborates with Mycoprotein Innovator Mycorena on “Ground-Breaking” Alt Protein Plant

June 12, 2023July 15, 2022

Tetra Pak is to collaborate with Mycorena to build a greenfield production facility for fungi fermentation. With the goal of building a more resilient and sustainable global food system, the new facility will utilize Mycorena’s innovative fungi fermentation for alt protein food applications. The new plant, located in Falkenberg, Sweden, will produce a meat replacement product from fungi. The factory’s first phase will include mince-based products that will serve as ingredients for making alt meat products, with the fast-growing Mycorena also announcing plans to expand its production capacity and extend its geographical reach by opening new factories across Europe and Asia in the near future. Packaging giant Tetra Pak’s relationship with Mycorena dates back to 2019 and forms part of the company’s ambition to reach …

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Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

Mycorena Develops “First Ever” Mycoprotein-Based Butter

July 12, 2022

Sweden’s Mycorena has developed what it claims is the first mycoprotein-based butter prototype. The innovation could pave the way for mycoprotein to be used in alt-dairy products as well as alt-meat. To make the butter, Mycorena uses a unique fungi-based fat ingredient requiring very few additives. The new prototype is cholesterol-free, and is also lower in saturated fat than conventional butter. Ultimately, the fat ingredient could be used to develop alternatives to other high-fat dairy products such as cream and cheese. “This is something our team has been trying to figure out for more than a year, with little success until recently,” Mycorena Chief Innovation Officer Paulo Telxeira told FoodNavigator. “Usually, mycoprotein is considered a non-functional protein ingredient that needs other ingredients to create interesting …

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Mycorena’s MIND Location Expands to Become Europe’s Largest Mycoprotein Facility

June 7, 2022June 1, 2022

Sweden’s mycelium-based protein leader Mycorena has expanded its facilities to become Europe’s largest demo production facility currently in full operation, according to the company. The Mycorena Innovation and Development centre (MIND) has grown its pilot-line facilities to become one of the few facilities globally to provide an inclusive “fermenter to fork” approach. Based in the heart of Gothenburg city center, MIND now hosts the Mycorena’s office headquarters, a fully food-grade certified fermentation facility, R&D labs, a development kitchen, and a pilot line for the production of end-consumer food products. The food tech company claims that the facility is capable of producing hundreds of tons of mycoprotein annually to be used as a food ingredient. Mycorena has also established what it says are fully modular and …

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Mycorena’s mycelium-based protein Promyc