Mushroom Valley recently held its final partner meeting of 2019. The first three years have passed and it was time for an evaluation and strategy for the future.

The kick-off in the first year, The National Mushroom Day in the second year and the project “Word jij ook zo high van paddenstoelen?” at the International Mushroom Days in Den Bosch this year, have put Mushroom Valley on the map within the Dutch mushroom industry.

Execution on Branding, Education, Innovation, Network, Big data and Market gave partners the feeling of diminished focus in activities. After an intense discussion, the partners came up with a strategy for the future, taking the learning points of the last years into consideration.

Mushroom Valley will develop itself as knowledge center for the worldwide mushroom industry. The focus will be on education and realisation of the Dutch Mushroom Center at the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo.

Worldwide trends make the mushroom production grow significantly and our partners play an immense role in this. Jack Lemmen, GTL-Europe: “Because of the fast growth, there is an international demand for experts in all parts of the chain. Education is what connects all of us, so let’s focus on this.”

Mushroom Valley will take the challenge, to educate the mushroom industry, together with Mushroom Office. Mark den Ouden, Mushroom Office: “With our newly developed E-course Mushroom Signals Essentials as base and the Mushroom Signals Extended for the advanced, a more complete education for the new (international) experts will be developed. Combining this with live training and company visits in the Netherlands will create new opportunities for the supplying companies. Together with Mushroom Valley we can increase the reach to cover everyone with a need for knowledge.”

The development of the Dutch Mushroom Center will function like a magnet on the international world which we seduce to gain knowledge at the Brightlands. Through this, we strengthen and maintain our position as knowledge-country in this healthy and sustainable mushroom industry. Inventor Jan Klerken, Scelta Mushrooms: “A physical Dutch Mushroom Center is a stage on which gastronomy, education, promotion and new developments go hand in hand.”

The Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo is all about healthy food and is with the Kids University for Cooking “Kokkerelli” an ideal base to give mushrooms a stage.

Director Saskia Goetgeluk, Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo says enthusiastically: “The Dutch Mushroom Center is a wonderful development and fits well within the campus in which it is all about healthy and safe food. It does not just stimulate knowledge development, but will also give the regional network a positive impulse.”

Also deputy Hubert Mackus cheers for this development: “The mushroom is the example of healthy and sustainable food and this cluster of entrepreneurs puts emphasize on the Brightlands-idea of collaboration.”