There are a few companies in this space, notably Ecovative, who have been trying to make mycelium-based packaging for almost two decades.
The problem is that it takes around 7 days for each piece of packaging to "grow", and the finished part is heavy and not compressible so it adds significant cost in manufacturing, storage and transit. And these costs don't get any better with scale.
For those reasons, mycelium packaging hasn't seen much adoption beyond being used as a marketing story for high-priced small goods. Environmentally forward companies have tended towards paper-based solutions like molded fiber.
Tepix 5 minutes ago [-]
Heavy?
Two packages made from mycelium can behave very differently because “mycelium composite” is a category, not a single recipe. Particle size, fibre content, and the ratio of substrate to mycelium all change density. Higher density generally brings higher compressive strength and better edge definition, but it also increases weight and can reduce the springy cushioning that protective packaging needs.
Just a side note. I started growing mushrooms a couple of years ago.
Very interesting and fulfilling hobby, they are incredibly interesting critters. Takes a little bit of dedication to get started but once you start seeing them fruit and making your own substrate it's quite inexpensive and a lot of fun. I have a feeling lots of folks in this community would really like it.
Basic starter package is a 'monotub', selection of spores, grain for spawning, substrate for fruiting and miscellaneous bits and bobs for handling, hydrating, maintaining temps and cultivating. North Spore and Midwest Grow Kits are both reputable and reliable suppliers.
My sister worked as an intern on mycelium as fertilizer. Basically, using cover crops create a small mycelium layer that helps plant grow and reduce fertilizer use (by fixing nitrogen probably). Her job was to find molecules that would make the mycelium, and only the mycelium, grow quicker.
That's a very interesting field to study, and it seems promising.
8-prime 5 hours ago [-]
Looks really cool, though I don't know if the name is conducive to business. With just the URL I would not have clicked to see that the business is about.
Mordisquitos 4 hours ago [-]
Ironically I only came to this HN post and clicked on the URL because of the name. At first I misunderstood the description and thought they were doing industrial-scale packaging of magical mushroom mycelium.
AntiqueFig 40 minutes ago [-]
Yeah same, I'm kinda sad now it's only packaging.
blackhaz 4 hours ago [-]
That's a URL bait!
Pine_Mushroom 4 hours ago [-]
Years ago I ran an ecommerce site for gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. We certainly had nothing to do with illegal mushrooms, but I liberally sprinkled the word 'magic' where ever possible. Also the words 'Ann+Arbor'... It seemed to drive some traffic.
vages 4 hours ago [-]
Any PR is good PR, I guess?
oniony 4 hours ago [-]
There are already companies that use packaging made from formed paper and sugarcane. I would be interested to see what mycelium packaging offers over this.
In the old days, wood shaving and even popcorn were the packing material of choice.
The reason styrofoam is used is because it's cheaper (main) and it doesn't decompose when wet.
elil17 4 hours ago [-]
I believe the mushroom packaging is more like a foam, so it may be able to better protect products. Additionally, it may have a more "premium" feeling/appearance vs. pulp packaging.
oniony 3 hours ago [-]
Looking at the images, it looks less premium to me than the smoother mouled paper inserts I've seen on electronic products. You could be right on with the foam aspect though.
elil17 2 hours ago [-]
Well there are multiple types of molded paper inserts. Egg carton-type material on the cheap end, and that super smooth stuff that Apple uses on the other (these generally have additives in them - they aren't just paper). In terms of "premium"ness this sits in the middle.
xattt 3 hours ago [-]
> Mushroom® Packaging, grown from natural mushroom mycelium and agricultural by-products …
Does anyone know the agricultural byproducts are?
matsemann 59 minutes ago [-]
How is Mushroom something you can put (r) after?
fluoridation 20 minutes ago [-]
Well, how is "Windows"?
zukzuk 19 minutes ago [-]
Some mushrooms, like many oyster species, are saprotrophs and will grow on just about any waste organic material with enough cellulose.
Bayart 2 hours ago [-]
Certainly dung. A common substrate for growing mushroom is a straw or shredded wood depending on the species plus manure.
Rooster61 40 minutes ago [-]
Not certainly. A LARGE number of fungi grow just fine without manure. I think this is a common misconception since agaricus bisporus (portobello, bella, white, cremini, button) need it to grow well, and it is the most commonly human-grown fungus by a long shot.
Mistletoe 2 hours ago [-]
It says it is the woody core of hemp.
londons_explore 60 minutes ago [-]
Sounds like a thing you could just make paper and cardboard out of directly...
readingnews 5 hours ago [-]
Not sure if they were the first, or whatever, but this really seems like a breakthrough technology / methodology. How many cardboard boxes do we use a day? The mind boggles.
Totally cool stuff.
adzm 5 hours ago [-]
This seems more like a replacement for Styrofoam rather than cardboard boxes, though it could certainly be used in places we already use cardboard inserts. But probably still need a cardboard box on the outside. Thankfully we can grow those too!!
embedding-shape 4 hours ago [-]
> This seems more like a replacement for Styrofoam rather than cardboard boxes
It seems rigid though, more akin to cardboard than soft styrofoam. I don't see anything about how dampening it is, but from the pictures I also assumed it was more like cardboard than styrofoam. Maybe the color is deceiving me though.
Under "Features" it explicitly calls out polystyrene as what it is meant to replace, and under "Performance" they claim to provide for clients "that demand the same technical performance as the polystyrene we replace"
rithdmc 4 hours ago [-]
Dell have been using mycelium packaging for a while now - 2014 maybe? created in the US. Very interested to see this space go.
ndespres 3 hours ago [-]
Dell (and IKEA, and others) source from Ecovative who have been working on this for a while: https://ecovative.com/
microflash 1 hours ago [-]
Nice, thanks for the link. Somehow, this weekend I’ve gone into the rabbit hole of mycelium packaging, a completely new and interesting topic for me. Need to check this out before my fascination wears off.
Under Features, it lists polystyrene products as what it replaces, not cardboard.
elil17 3 hours ago [-]
I don't think this is better for the environment than cardboard (if anything it is probably worse as a direct replacement for cardboard because cardboard already has a robust recycling supplychain). Rather, it is a replacement for plastic foam.
Tarq0n 4 hours ago [-]
Cardboard is mostly renewable, it's the applications where we combine it with plastic where alternatives are needed.
ekjhgkejhgk 4 hours ago [-]
This isn't different from cardboard. This is made from mushrooms, cardboard is made from trees. The real problem is plastics.
cachius 2 hours ago [-]
Nice, similar to https://www.traceless.eu who are pioneering biopolymers from grain residue, fitting into existing machines and workflows.
They already supplied famous Rock am Ring festival with friespickers last year!
3 hours ago [-]
khat 35 minutes ago [-]
Now if they can get a mushroom that eats plastic to use it as fuel to grow the mycelium that would be even better.
nhinck3 4 hours ago [-]
Going on a little PR adventure today are we?
vintermann 3 hours ago [-]
This site is run by venture capitalists, I think it's part of the package as long as they don't pretend otherwise.
nhinck3 2 hours ago [-]
Yeah, I know it's just funny to see the coordinated effort across multiple sites.
matsemann 58 minutes ago [-]
Or, someone saw it on reddit, thought it was cool, and posted here? Aka classic going viral event, without anything nefarious.
vicentwu 1 hours ago [-]
cool
intrasight 2 hours ago [-]
I like the web site. Using on mobile. Not as bland as most. I normally don't like animation but this one is done nicely.
amelius 3 hours ago [-]
Is it edible?
fanatic2pope 3 hours ago [-]
Maybe not by humans, but definitely by the various things living in your compost pile.
Joel_Mckay 3 hours ago [-]
Sounds like a great product, but a tough name in a business messaging context. The Customer Acquisition Cost for people that missed business culture fit rules can be extraordinarily high.
Maybe some sort of additional corporate alias name with "Biocomposite" or "Sustainable" packaging related messaging. Also, one may want to contact Uline with a set of product sku that already fit generic shipping boxes for high-value items like wine bottles and laptop screens.
Have a great day =3
larodi 4 hours ago [-]
how's this Europe's given factories (and all likeliness all else) is in UK?
The problem is that it takes around 7 days for each piece of packaging to "grow", and the finished part is heavy and not compressible so it adds significant cost in manufacturing, storage and transit. And these costs don't get any better with scale.
For those reasons, mycelium packaging hasn't seen much adoption beyond being used as a marketing story for high-priced small goods. Environmentally forward companies have tended towards paper-based solutions like molded fiber.
Two packages made from mycelium can behave very differently because “mycelium composite” is a category, not a single recipe. Particle size, fibre content, and the ratio of substrate to mycelium all change density. Higher density generally brings higher compressive strength and better edge definition, but it also increases weight and can reduce the springy cushioning that protective packaging needs.
Source: https://dirobots.com/en/mycelium-strength/
Very interesting and fulfilling hobby, they are incredibly interesting critters. Takes a little bit of dedication to get started but once you start seeing them fruit and making your own substrate it's quite inexpensive and a lot of fun. I have a feeling lots of folks in this community would really like it.
Basic starter package is a 'monotub', selection of spores, grain for spawning, substrate for fruiting and miscellaneous bits and bobs for handling, hydrating, maintaining temps and cultivating. North Spore and Midwest Grow Kits are both reputable and reliable suppliers.
Tons of resources on YouTube as you might expect. One of my favorites is Southwest Mushrooms - https://www.youtube.com/@SouthwestMushrooms
That's a very interesting field to study, and it seems promising.
E.g. https://www.jishan-group.com/pulp-products.
The reason styrofoam is used is because it's cheaper (main) and it doesn't decompose when wet.
Totally cool stuff.
It seems rigid though, more akin to cardboard than soft styrofoam. I don't see anything about how dampening it is, but from the pictures I also assumed it was more like cardboard than styrofoam. Maybe the color is deceiving me though.
Under "Features" it explicitly calls out polystyrene as what it is meant to replace, and under "Performance" they claim to provide for clients "that demand the same technical performance as the polystyrene we replace"
Under Features, it lists polystyrene products as what it replaces, not cardboard.
They already supplied famous Rock am Ring festival with friespickers last year!
Maybe some sort of additional corporate alias name with "Biocomposite" or "Sustainable" packaging related messaging. Also, one may want to contact Uline with a set of product sku that already fit generic shipping boxes for high-value items like wine bottles and laptop screens.
Have a great day =3
https://magicalmushroom.com/manufacturing/the-factories
geographically, perhaps, not EU though. and not relevant to EU where there are at least several similar companies such as
Grown.bio - Netherlands PermaFungi - Brussels (New 1,400 m² factory) RongoDesign - Romania Biomyc - Bulgaria
perhaps more. So this title is super misleading - not first, not Europe's, but perhaps UK's
I figure that's why they said Europe's first industrial scale; not the EU's first industrial scale...
You know that a company can own factories in other countries, yes?
“Europe's first industrial-scale mycelium packaging producer”.