# Mycoprotein and mushroom sector

Fungal biomass protein (mycoprotein) and mycelium materials produced via fermentation of Fusarium, Neurospora and Trichoderma — a $4.6B market growing at 12% CAGR.

Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/mycoprotein-mushroom-sector/
Updated: 2026-08-18



## Overview and value chain

Markers: [EC: EU Novel Food Regulation (EC 2015/2283) | OECD: Food Systems | Regulator: FDA (USA), EFSA (EU)]

The mycoprotein and mushroom sector spans fungal biomass fermentation for alternative protein (mycoprotein), conventional mushroom cultivation for food, and mycelium-based materials for packaging, textiles and leather alternatives. Global mushroom production exceeds 45 million tonnes annually, led by China at 75% of world output. The mycoprotein segment — fungal biomass grown in liquid fermentation — is the fastest-growing sub-sector, with the alternative-protein market for fungal biomass reaching $4.6 billion in 2026 and a CAGR of 12%. Mycoprotein offers a complete amino-acid profile and fibrous texture that mimics whole-muscle meat without the binding agents required by plant-based alternatives.

Key directions of the mycoprotein and mushroom sector:
1. **Mycoprotein via fermentation (Quorn, ENOUGH, Meati):** Fusarium venenatum, Neurospora crassa and other filamentous fungi grown in aerobic liquid fermentation to produce high-protein biomass with meat-like texture.
2. **Mycelium whole cuts (MyForest Foods, Meati):** Whole-muscle cuts of mycelium grown in thin sheets or columns, harvested and seasoned as bacon, steak or chicken alternatives.
3. **Mushroom-derived functional ingredients (MycoTechnology):** Fermented mushroom mycelium used as a functional protein, flavour modulator and texturiser for plant-based and hybrid foods.
4. **Mycelium materials (Ecovative, Bolt Threads):** Grown-mycelium packaging, construction panels and leather substitutes (Mylo) that biodegrade after use.

### Sectoral value chain

```
[Substrate / Feedstock] ──> [Solid-state or liquid fermentation] ──> [Harvest / Separation]
                                        │
                                (Biomass processing)
                                        │
                                        ▼
[Consumer food] <── [Food formulation] <── [Mycoprotein powder / whole cuts]
[Packaging / Textiles] <── [Mycelium drying & pressing]
```

### Value chain levels

| Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Feedstock & Substrate** | Agricultural residues (straw, grain, molasses) or glucose for liquid fermentation. | **In:** Straw, glucose, corn-steep liquor.<br>**Out:** Prepared sterile substrate or feed medium. |
| **Fermentation** | Aerobic liquid fermentation (submerged) or solid-state cultivation on trays or columns. | **In:** Fungal spores/mycelium seed, air, water.<br>**Out:** Fungal biomass in broth or on solid carrier. |
| **Harvest & Separation** | Centrifugation, filtration or mechanical harvest of fungal biomass from growth medium. | **In:** Fermented biomass, centrifuges.<br>**Out:** Wet mycoprotein cake or mycelium mat. |
| **Processing & Formulation** | Enzymatic treatment (RNA reduction), texturisation, flavouring and blending into consumer formats. | **In:** Mycoprotein cake, binders, flavours.<br>**Out:** Chilled or frozen mycoprotein pieces, powder. |
| **Mycelium Material Finishing** | Drying, pressing, tanning (for leather) of mycelium mats into sheet goods. | **In:** Mycelium mats, heat, natural binders.<br>**Out:** Packaging blocks, leather sheets, panels. |
| **Distribution & Retail** | Cold-chain or ambient distribution to retail, food service and B2B ingredient buyers. | **In:** Packed products, logistics.<br>**Out:** Retail-ready food, B2B protein, material rolls. |

Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:
- **Filamentous fungi submerged fermentation:** Optimised bioreactor design for high-biomass-density culture of Fusarium, Neurospora and Aspergillus, achieving up to 30 g/L dry biomass.
- **RNA reduction via heat shock:** Controlled thermal treatment that reduces nucleic-acid content of mycoprotein to <2% (required for regulatory approval and digestibility).
- **Mycelium column & tray cultivation:** Vertical farming of mycelium on substrate columns or thin trays for whole-cut meat analogues and material sheets.

---

## US

The United States is the largest consumer market for mycoprotein and the global leader in mycelium materials innovation, driven by venture-backed startups and regulatory clarity via FDA GRAS.

### Meati whole-cut mycoprotein, MyForest whole-cut bacon, Ecovative mycelium materials
- **Meati Foods:** Produces whole-cut mycelium steaks and cutlets from Neurospora crassa in a 100,000 sq ft facility in Colorado. Raised over $250M and sells through 8,000+ US retail locations including Whole Foods and Sprouts.
- **MyForest Foods:** Ecovative spinout producing mycelium-based whole-cut bacon (MyBacon) from column-grown mycelium. Uses its parent's patented AirMycelium technology.
- **MycoTechnology:** Developer of FermentIQ — a functional protein and flavour ingredient produced by fermenting pea/rice protein with shiitake mycelium. Supplies major CPG brands with clean-label protein.
- **Ecovative Design:** Pioneer of mycelium-grown materials. Products include Mushroom Packaging (compostable foam replacement), MycoFlex (leather alternative), and AirMycelium (lightweight panels). Licensed technology to 25+ companies globally.
- **Bolt Threads:** Developer of Mylo — mycelium leather alternative, partnered with Stella McCartney, Hermes and Adidas for prototype and limited-edition products.

---

## CN

China dominates global mushroom cultivation at 42 million tonnes annually (75% of world output), and is investing in industrial automation, CRISPR strain improvement, and mycelium materials R&D.

### Xueyu Biotech industrial scale, Guzhen mushroom capital, Cordyceps cultivation
- **Xueyu Biotech (雪榕生物):** Publicly listed company producing 300,000 tonnes/year of enoki and eryngii mushrooms across 40 fully automated facilities. Represents the apex of China's industrial mushroom farming, with robotics for inoculation, harvest and packaging.
- **Gutian County, Fujian (古田):** The "mushroom capital of the world" producing 1.6 million tonnes/year across 30+ species, exporting $400 million annually to 40 countries. IoT-enabled smart factories are being rolled out across the region.
- **Cordyceps militaris cultivation:** China produces 10,000 tonnes/year of cultivated cordyceps (down from wild Cordyceps sinensis at $2,500–10,000/gram), using controlled-environment facilities at a fraction of the wild-harvest price.
- **National Fungi Germplasm Resource Bank:** Holds 6,000+ fungal strains; CRISPR editing applied to medicinal mushrooms (reishi, cordyceps) for enhanced bioactive compound yields.

---

## EU

Europe is the birthplace of commercial mycoprotein (Quorn, 1985) and leads in circular mushroom cultivation, but faces regulatory friction from EFSA's Novel Food pathway.

### Quorn mycoprotein leader, ENOUGH ABUNDA scale-up, circular mushroom farming
- **Quorn Foods (UK):** The original mycoprotein company, producing Fusarium venenatum biomass in a 50,000-litre continuous fermentation process at its Stokesley facility. Revenues exceeding $300M, products sold in 20+ countries as chilled and frozen meat alternatives.
- **ENOUGH (Netherlands):** Developer of ABUNDA mycoprotein from Fusarium, produced in a 22,000-litre demonstration fermenter. Targeting 60,000 tonnes/year capacity with a €50M factory in Sas van Gent. Received Novel Food approval in the EU in 2024.
- **Circular mushroom cultivation:** The Netherlands and Poland lead EU production, with spent mushroom substrate (SMS) recycled as organic fertiliser. Spanish institute CTICH in La Rioja replaces peat cover with wine and olive waste — a zero-waste model.
- **Helmholtz Fungal Biotechnology (Germany):** Scaling deep-submerged mycelium cultivation for pure mycoprotein without fruiting-body formation, radically reducing water consumption and cycle time.

---

## Leading companies and research institutes

| Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| **Quorn Foods** | 🇬🇧 UK | *Mycoprotein (Fusarium venenatum)* | Continuous fermentation, RNA-reduced, >$300M revenue, 50+ SKUs. | commercial |
| **ENOUGH** | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | *ABUNDA mycoprotein* | Fungal fermentation, 22 kL demo, 60 kt target, EU Novel Food approved. | growth |
| **Meati Foods** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Mycoprotein whole cuts (Neurospora crassa)* | 100,000 sq ft facility, >$250M raised, 8,000+ retail doors. | commercial |
| **MycoTechnology** | 🇺🇸 USA | *FermentIQ (shiitake-fermented protein)* | Fungal fermentation of pulse protein, clean-label, B2B CPG supply. | operating |
| **Ecovative Design** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Mycelium packaging, leather, panels* | AirMycelium technology, 25+ licensees, MycoFlex leather. | commercial |
| **Xueyu Biotech** | 🇨🇳 China | *Industrial mushrooms (enoki, eryngii)* | 300,000 t/yr, 40 automated factories, publicly listed. | commercial |

---

## Tech stack and innovations

The mycoprotein and mushroom technology stack comprises four integrated domains: submerged fungal fermentation, solid-state mycelium cultivation, post-harvest processing and mycelium material finishing.

1. **Submerged fermentation of filamentous fungi:**
   - Continuous and fed-batch bioreactor designs optimised for high-density fungal biomass. Quorn's proprietary continuous air-lift fermenter holds 50,000 L and runs for months without shutdown, achieving steady-state mycoprotein production at >10 g/L/h.
   - Meati uses static vertical fermentation: Neurospora mycelium grows as a contiguous mat harvested in whole sheets, providing whole-cut texture without extrusion.

2. **RNA reduction technology:**
   - Mycoprotein from fast-growing fungi has naturally high RNA content (up to 10% dry weight). A controlled heat-shock step (64 °C for 10 minutes) activates endogenous ribonucleases that reduce RNA to <2%, meeting FAO/WHO purine limits. This step is integrated into Quorn's continuous process.

3. **Solid-state column cultivation for whole cuts:**
   - MyForest Foods and Meati grow mycelium on vertical substrate columns or thin trays. The mycelium forms a cohesive mat (5–15 mm thick) that is harvested, seasoned and cooked as a whole-cut analogue. Cycle time: 7–14 days from inoculation to harvest.

4. **Mycelium material finishing:**
   - For packaging: wet mycelium-substrate composite is pressed into moulds and dried at 150 °C, forming a rigid, lightweight block that replaces expanded polystyrene.
   - For leather (Mylo, MycoFlex): the mycelium mat is tanned with natural binders (no chromium), dyed and finished to mimic bovine leather grain. Tensile strength reaches 15–25 MPa, comparable to conventional leather.

---

## Value chains and production pipelines

### Industrial production pipeline of continuous mycoprotein fermentation (Quorn process) from feedstock preparation through fermentation, RNA reduction to consumer retail (HACCP / ISO 22000)

```
┌──────────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Feedstock preparation │ ───> │ 2. Continuous air-lift   │
│    (glucose syrup,       │      │    fermentation (50 kL)  │
│     minerals, vitamins)  │      │    (Fusarium venenatum)  │
└──────────────────────────┘      └──────────────────────────┘
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
┌──────────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ 4. RNA reduction via     │ <─── │ 3. Centrifugal harvest & │
│    heat shock (64°C)     │      │    biomass washing       │
└──────────────────────────┘      └──────────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌──────────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Mixing, texturising   │ ───> │ 6. Freezing, packing &   │
│    & flavouring          │      │    cold-chain retail     │
└──────────────────────────┘      └──────────────────────────┘
```

#### Stage 1: Feedstock preparation
Glucose syrup, mineral salts, biotin and trace elements are sterilised and continuously fed into the air-lift fermenter. The medium is formulated to maximise Fusarium biomass yield while suppressing ethanol overflow metabolism.

#### Stage 2: Continuous air-lift fermentation (50,000 L)
The proprietary air-lift fermenter operates as a continuous culture: sterile medium enters at the base, air injected through a sparger drives circulation, and mycoprotein broth overflows from the top. The dilution rate maintains a steady-state biomass concentration of 15–20 g/L. The process runs uninterrupted for 3–4 months.

#### Stage 3: Centrifugal harvest and washing
The overflow broth passes through a disc-stack centrifuge, separating mycelial biomass as a wet cake (25% solids). The cake is washed with potable water to remove residual medium components.

#### Stage 4: RNA reduction via heat shock
The wet cake passes through a scraped-surface heat exchanger that raises the temperature to 64 °C for 10 minutes. This activates endogenous ribonucleases that degrade RNA from 10% to less than 2% dry weight, meeting the FAO/WHO purine intake guideline.

#### Stage 5: Mixing, texturising and flavouring
The RNA-reduced mycoprotein is mixed with natural binders (potato starch, pea fibre), flavours and colours. The blend is passed through a cooker-extruder that texturises the protein into fibrous chunks or mince.

#### Stage 6: Freezing, packing and cold-chain retail
Formed mycoprotein pieces are blast-frozen, packed in modified-atmosphere trays and distributed through frozen-food retail and food-service channels. The product retains a shelf life of 12 months frozen or 21 days chilled.