RibbStyle is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Mushroom Supply Services, a leading partner in the mushroom industry. Since 2024, RibbStyle has been working with this American distributor to significantly strengthen their reach and service. By opening a  warehouse in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania – the heart of the American mushroom region – products can be delivered faster and more efficiently to customers in the region.

Kennett Square is not just a location; it is an important link in the American mushroom market, and the collaboration provides RibbStyle direct access to this dynamic industry. By utilizing the extensive network and expertise of David Iaconi, an experienced name in the mushroom world, RibbStyle opens up new opportunities for innovation and growth.

New opportunities in renovation of tunnels and cultivation cells

The collaboration also offers RibbStyle the opportunity to further specialize in the renovation of tunnels and cultivation cells. By combining this expertise with the reliable distribution and network of Mushroom Supply Services, RibbStyle can better support American mushroom growers in optimizing their growing conditions and extending the life of their production facilities.

With this strategic expansion, RibbStyle not only strengthens their presence in the United States, but also contributes to a more sustainable and innovative future for the mushroom industry.

Author: Mushroom Matter
Photos: RibbStyle

               

Discover the fascinating world of mushrooms and the thriving market surrounding them. Psychedelic, functional, and edible mushrooms are gaining popularity in various industries. In the US, the psychedelic mushroom market was worth $1.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow by 11.3% annually. Functional mushrooms, known for their health benefits, reached $8.8 billion in 2021 and could surpass $14.49 billion by 2030. Edible mushrooms in North America were valued at $12 billion in 2023, projected to reach $20.91 billion by 2028.

The mushroom market is capturing the interest of consumers, researchers, and investors.

Please read the full article here.
Source: RollingStones

The mushroom industry has been one of the few bright spots in the food industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With more people cooking at home and looking for healthy food options, the demand for mushrooms has surged.

According to a recent report, the global mushroom market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2020 to 2027, driven by increasing consumer awareness about the health benefits of mushrooms and the rise in vegan and plant-based diets.

In addition to the growing demand, the mushroom industry has also been benefiting from advancements in technology and sustainable growing practices. For example, some companies are using artificial intelligence to optimize mushroom production and reduce waste, while others are using compostable packaging to reduce their environmental impact.

Overall, the mushroom industry is poised for continued growth in the coming years as consumers continue to prioritize health and sustainability in their food choices.

Agro-Projects reports: new opportunities are appearing on the mushroom market of Western Europe as well as in the World.

Agro-Projects, one of the largest general contractors in building mushroom farms and compost yards in Europe, conveys that West European, as well as Central and South European mushroom business, is going to grow significantly during the next 10-20 years. Unlike four-three years ago, when most offer requests that Agro-Projects used to receive, were coming from investors in Eastern Europe - now definitely more than 60% are from investors from Western and Central Europe. New facilities are being built - Agro-Projects has recently finished its construction of three mushroom farms in France, two of them consist of 22 chambers and is currently working on the fourth.
Daniel Dajewski, CEO of Agro-Projects, who has been involved in mushroom industry for almost last 10 years, explains that the movement towards increasing mushroom production in Western Europe is natural for several obvious reasons.   

Mushroom becomes “trendy food”
Mushroom is a nutritious product that additionally can be used as meat substitute (The Blend, promoted by Mushroom Council¹) and is sustainable (i.e. concept of eating food, produced in responsible to the Earth way, coming to Europe from USA²) so it fits into many nutritional trends of the future. Those trends include: eating healthy products, plant-based diets, paying attention to proteins, antioxidants and other bioactive compounds in food, diet that prevents cancer and dementia, and vitamin D.
Across developed economies of Western Europe, there is a growing popularity of vegetarian and vegan diets, in which mushrooms fit perfectly (e.g. Italian`s percentage of vegetarians during 2019-2020 increased from 7.1% to 8.9%³ ; e.g. in Germany in 2020 the volume of consumed meat substitutes was 25.5 million kg - increase of c. 82% from previous year⁴).
According to Agro-Projects' customers and partners in Western Europe, nowadays mushroom associations, as well as European farms themselves, are paying more and more attention to making consumers aware of mushroom compatibility trends that are step by step increasing consumption and production.

Local mushrooms displace imported and may cost more
On one hand, in many West European countries consumption of mushrooms is high enough, around 3-4 kg per capita⁵ , and the demand for them is continuously increasing (e.g. in France⁶) - so to invest in mushroom farm looks like a good idea. On the other hand, West European countries are used to importing mushrooms from Poland, Netherlands because existing farms cannot satisfy their demand. For example, according to German association of mushroom producers Bund Deutscher Champignon-und Kulturpilzanbauer E.V., in Germany in 2021 domestic mushroom producers where able to produce only 60-65% of the amount of all mushrooms consumed⁷.
Today the situation is changing dramatically. As one of the investors who is considering building a mushroom farm with Agro-Projects in Germany explains: Germans now want to buy German mushrooms because they are domestic, fresh, moreover buying such mushrooms supports local growers - in fact Germans prefer local mushrooms, even if they cost more. Investors from other West European countries describes the similar situation. No doubts such background opens many opportunities for those who want to set up modern mushroom farm in Western Europe. However, the investor should take into consideration that consumers in these countries have very high-quality requirements for mushrooms, because for years they have been accustomed to buying high quality Polish mushrooms. That's why it's so important to find a partner who can advise and help you design, build, equip, and put into production a truly modern and efficient mushroom farm.
Some mushroom industry experts explain that the movement towards domestic and local products has become stronger during Covid pandemic⁸, probably as the natural consumers’ desire to feel safe. There is no doubt that mushroom associations and cooperatives, and even government institutions of Western European countries are also investing in promoting the consumption of local mushrooms, as this makes their product more desirable and bought at a higher price (see as the example the project “Mushroom miles⁹”). In such movement, investors who build mushroom farms in Western Europe, are going to be supported.

Investors are able to have their mushrooms in one year
From Agro-Projects’ many years of experience, we know that the duration of construction of a mushroom farm depends on many factors - first of all, on which contractor you have chosen and what experience he has. If you choose Agro-Projects - the usual 12 chambers farm will take up to 8 months to build¹⁰, and mushroom sales will be possible nearly a month and a half after the farm is up and running. In comparison to apples, pears or other fruits - return on investment in the mushroom industry is much faster. Number of Agro-Projects’ clients admit it is the reason why mushroom business is so attractive for them.

Conclusion
In addition, some investors told Agro-Projects that to build a mushroom farm in Europe they can look for some financial back-up from the government or international funds. Since mushroom growing is a type of sustainable production and creates tens of workplaces, some subsides, grants and loans could be received (e.g. in UK¹¹).
Among requires that specialists of Agro-Projects now receive are modernizations of already existing farms in Western Europe. The reason is that domestic suppliers want to compete in quality with imported mushrooms. That is also the topic of the future - number of old West European mushroom farms are going to become modernized. In many countries, where the unemployment level is low and labor cost is on relatively high level, there can be observed a trend of looking for the solutions for more automated production, especially in the area of picking.
West European mushroom markets are growing, new modern farms are going to be built over the next few years and the number of mushrooms produced locally is going to increase. However, this process is not going to be fast and simple. Agro-Projects is one of those partners that transmits knowledge, accumulated over the years and helps to build and equip mushroom farms all over the worlds.

Background information
Polish company Agro-Projects is from one hand one of the largest in Europe companies that designs, builds turnkey and equips mushroom farms and compost yards, from the other hand produces and offers reliable equipment such as filling machines, racks, picking lorries, etc. It has more than 70 completed investments in the world. Argo-Projects has been operating for 7 years in the mushroom sector but the experience among the team and management is much longer.
Please find more information about the company here: https://www.agro-projects.eu/en/

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[1] The Mushroom Council, The Blend. Available at: https://www.mushroomcouncil.com/the-blend/ .

[2] South Mill Champs, Sustainable Mushroom Farm. Available at: https://southmill.com/farm-to-finger/responsibly-grown/ .

[3] Vegolosi.it, Eurispes 2020, aumentano i vegani: mai un dato così alto. Available at: https://www.vegolosi.it/news/eurispes-2020-vegani-vegetariani/ .

[4] Statista, Growth of meat substitute consumption in Germany from 2014 to 2026. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1276748/germany-meat-substitute-consumption-growth .

[5] Karol Kania i Synowie, Mushroom Consumption Worldwide – Statistics. Available at: https://kania.net.pl/en/mushroom-consumption-worldwide-statistics/#:~:text=In%20leading%20European%20countries%20consumption,has%20increased%20by%20240%25!

[6] Businesscoot, The mushroom market France. Available at: https://www.businesscoot.com/en/study/the-mushroom-market-france .

[7] Gombaforum, German mushroom production statistics in brief. Available at: https://www.gombaforum.hu/en/2021/gazdasag/nemet-gombaipari-statisztika-roviden/ .

[8] FreshPlaza, Noticeable increase in demand for brown mushrooms. Available at: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9392667/noticeable-increase-in-demand-for-brown-mushrooms/ .

[9] Mushroom miles. Available at: https://mushroommiles.com/ .

[10] Agro-Projects, Gribowyj Raj - Mushroom Farm. Available at: https://www.agro-projects.eu/projects/gribowyj-raj/.

[11] UK StartUPS, Government Funding For A Mushroom Farming Business. Available at: https://www.ukstartups.org/government-funding-for-a-mushroom-farming-business/ .

At the beginning of this year, EuroMycel welcomed a new sales manager to their team, Jeroen Dunant. He has a broad experience in sales within the green industry.

Jeroen is responsible for the North European market, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany,
United Kingdom and Ireland. His main focus is to explore new markets and develop new opportunities for the mycelium products. In particular for the E58 premium mycelium for the fresh mushroom market and the E58 HD for the mechanized market. EuroMycel is a French company that produces mycelium situated in Touraine, home of the royal chateaux of France and cradle of the Champignon de Paris.

In 2010 EuroMycel was taken over by the Bonduelle Group, which enabled them to invest and develop new equipment and laboratories. EuroMycel is a strong player in the Bonduelle Group with a 2,7 miljard revenue last year. The director of the company, Frédéric Mathieu, reports directly to Bonduelles’ management and is therefore able to make quick decisions and direct the growth even more efficiently.

Jeroen works intensively with growers and compost companies. To sell the mycelium, but also invest in tests with the compost companies to improve the quality of compost in the growing companies.

If you have any questions for Jeroen, you can contact him via:

Jeroen Dunant
Sales Manager Northern Europe
Tel: (+31) 6 82183632
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.euromycel.com