UK-Based Mycoprotein Brand MYCO Expands Just Months After Opening

Mycoprotein is quickly becoming a favorite protein source worldwide. With a meat-like texture and incredible nutritional value, it’s an excellent option for those trying to improve their diet or simply make more environmentally friendly choices.

Who is MYCO?

MYCO is a plant-based company based in the north of England. They use technology to automate and ultimately improve agriculture processes to reduce land use, waste, food miles, and the production of CO₂. Currently, they grow oyster mushrooms to make a proprietary mycoprotein that they call Hooba.

How have they expanded?

Just months after they opened their production facility in North Yorkshire, demand for their products allowed them to expand the facility by 3,000 feet, enabling a 600% increase in production! They haven’t just expanded in square footage; they also hope to employ roughly seventy more staff over the next year.

The facility’s proximity to the UK’s major road network also helps to improve sustainability by reducing the miles food travels to get to supermarket shelves.

What is Hooba mycoprotein?

Hooba is a meat replacement created from oyster mushrooms, which has been proven in taste tests to be indistinguishable from meat. The product is said to handle just like mince; however, it has a much lower carbon footprint than other meat alternatives like soy. So far, Hooba has been used to create sausages, burgers, sausage rolls, bolognese, lasagna, and more, with MYCO hoping to expand its range of products even further in the future.

Unlike other proteins, oyster mushrooms are what is known as a complete protein – meaning that they contain all nine amino acids. It has a higher protein content than soy, nearly meeting the protein content of animal-based products. However, protein isn’t the only positive for mushroom-based products. Mushrooms are also high in antioxidants, niacin, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, and folic acid, as well as being allergen free.

What technology does MYCO use?

MYCO uses a system of vertical, AI-controlled farms that reduce land use, waste, food miles, and CO₂ emissions. While this is currently being used to harvest oyster mushrooms, MYCO is looking to adapt the technology for other mushrooms and even plant crops. 

Their products are grown on straw and have much lower footprints than soy or livestock farms. In addition, their farms are not restricted to the countryside and can be grown anywhere, even in urban areas. The straw is transformed into hydrogen fuel after use, allowing it to be carbon-negative even before the CO₂ produced is utilized or stored in-house. The farms are also solar-powered. 

Transparency is also crucial to the company, and all of its environmental inputs and outputs will be accessible to partners, customers, and consumers to track their environmental impact and that of the company.

MYCO’s Automated Vertical Farming System (AVFS) allows for the automatic planting, growing, and harvesting of mushroom farms, and AI ensures that optimal growing conditions are maintained throughout the entire process and that the mushrooms are harvested at the right time. Not only does this eliminate the possibility of human error, but mushroom farming is traditionally tough on the human body, and a labor shortage is well documented.
The entire farm is enclosed in a sealed environment that is constantly monitored by AI, using a system that was developed in conjunction with Teesside University.