Mycoprotein is moving from the forest to your plate

Despite myriad new plant-based meats on the market, eaters are still searching for great tasting, clean-label and sustainably made alternatives to love. They want less processed, more natural and highly nutritious options.  Emerging mycroprotein meat alternative products and high-protein ingredients are poised to meet these unmet and growing needs and bring with them potent macronutrients as well as a clear link to the natural world.

Mycoprotein is fiber-rich protein generated from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms and part of the fungi kingdom. Fungi ferment carbohydrates, transforming them into a biomass with a complete amino acid profile, unlike soy-, pea- and wheat plant-proteins. The mass can be compressed or formed into shapes that resemble “whole-cut” meat alternatives (cutlets, strips) or processed into versatile ingredient formats. 

While the term may seem unfamiliar, mycoprotein meat alternatives have been sold since the 1980s, primarily by UK’s Quorn. The brand uses fungi Fusarium venenatum which ferments a sugar solution from wheat and yields tons of mycoprotein in a matter of days, an incredible production rate. With the keen interest in plant protein foods today, the company is expanding its US footprint and being joined by startups attracting big investment dollars. 

One exciting newcomer is Nature’s Fynd, expanding beyond mycoprotein-based breakfast sausage into yogurts. It uses Fusarium strain flavolapis, discovered in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, and grows its mycoprotein, dubbed Fy, in shallow trays on racks in heated chambers. 

MyForest Foods (formerly Atlast) is another emerging brand with a name that reflects its connection to the natural world. A division of Ecovative, which transforms mycelium into meal alts, packaging and vegan leather, it is partnering with Whitecrest Mushrooms in Ontario, Canada to mass produce mycoprotein for MyBacon®. Whitecrest plans to build a one-acre farm that can efficiently produce an eye-opening three million pounds of mycelium bacon.

Two other companies focus on whole-cut alts. Meati Foods creates steak- and chicken-inspired cutlets. In late May 2022, it sold out of its DTC steak drop in seven minutes, promoting the positive nutritional profile of its steak with less fat and cholesterol than beef. Today the company is explaining itself by using the term ‘mushroom roots’ which is clear and evocative. The Better Meat Co., with investment from Hormel, has a range of products from potato fermentation including steaks, alt-foie gras and a textured mycoprotein ingredient. 

Japan’s “national mold” koji, another type of fungi, is being harnessed to create protein-rich meat alternatives by Berkeley, California-based Prime Roots. Traditionally, koji (Aspergillus oryzae) transforms rice, barley or soy into edible products like miso paste, soy sauce and sake. Here, the startup forms koji’s meat muscle-like mycelium structure into bacon and cold-cut facsimiles that it is selling in retail deli counters.

Strategic implications: With interest growing from investors, food companies’ venture arms, and consumers, including vegans, mycoproteins are poised to become a promising meat alternative. Their many benefits – taste, texture, versatility, ties to the natural world and low-impact production methods – deserve more attention from retailers, food makers seeking protein-rich ingredients, and foodservice operators designing the next attention-grabbing fungi-based protein menu item. Choices include creating meals and sandwich builds using whole-cut mycoproteins or using mycroprotein ingredients, such as those from MycoTechnology, an ingredient solution company with bitter blockers, fermented protein and even sugar reduction products all from mushroom fermentation. 

This piece was originally published for CCD Innovation’s TrendBites series in summer 2022.