October 14, 2024

Langeais, FR – Sylvan, a leading manufacturer of fungal biotechnology solutions, today announces the acquisition of French agaricus mushroom spawn producer EuroMycel from Bonduelle (BON.PA). The acquisition strengthens Sylvan’s position in the edible fungi market, expanding its capacity and capabilities in spawn production in Europe. Pending final legal approvals, the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024.

Enhancing capabilities and expanding capacity

The acquisition of EuroMycel allows Sylvan to tap into additional production capacity which it requires as part of the rollout of their Strategy 2028, which will see an increased focus on the commercialisation of patented new strains and fungal solutions. EuroMycel, known for its high quality agaricus strains and expertise in grain-based spawn production, will enhance Sylvan’s ability to serve the rapidly growing demand for its products in the European market and beyond.

“We are excited to welcome Frédéric and the EuroMycel team to the Sylvan organisation. The company has built an excellent reputation as a supplier of reliable high-performance spawn, and they will continue to operate independently under the existing leadership team. We cannot wait to start the process of sharing scientific knowledge and expertise across the businesses.” said Iwan Brandsma, Sylvan Europe CEO and Group Chief Growth Officer. “This acquisition is a significant step forward in the delivery of our Strategy 2028 ambitions.”

Read the full press release here.

EuroMycel is excited to announce the launch of their brand new website! Browse through for detailed information on their history, philosophy, and Mycelium varieties. Discover their production process, product creation, and meet their team. Today you get a sneak peek into EuroMycel’s journey.

Story of EuroMycel
Established in 1868, Royal Champignon pioneered the Loire Valley's mushroom industry. After merging with Guilbaud Group, EuroMycel, once a Guilbaud Group subsidiary and now part of France Champignon, became a key historical spawn maker.

The group has grown since the 1950s through external expansion, allowing for innovation capacity in product development to distribution. EuroMycel has acquired impressive expertise and a unique strain collection, which has resulted in a distinctive "savoir-faire."

Philosophy
EuroMycel believes that genetics of Agaricus bisporus does not limit biotransformation. They use a unique physiological conditioning process on their commercial sub lines to maximize mushroom compost. Their approach is different from standard breeding strategies as their varieties are based on biochemical markers in the vegetative phase.

Mushroom Spawn
The company's unique strain maintenance relies on mycelium interaction with compost to provide reliable spawn products with consistent pinning performances. They have a deep knowledge of fungal physiology and use a specific step-by-step vegetative screening process combined with strict water control to optimize selectivity. They enhance the absorption capacity of the spawn through a sophisticated physical measurement process, critical for the bio-transformation in compost and crop growth. This process also enables strain differentiation.

Discover more about their expertises on https://www.euromycel.com 
Contact their team via https://www.euromycel.com/contact

The EuroMycel mycelium laboratory is a subsidiary and privileged commercial partner of the International BONDUELLE Group.

Since 1960, EuroMycel has successively been the historical spawn maker subsidiary of the Guilbaud Group, then of France Champignon, and today of the Bonduelle Group.

During all these years, EuroMycel has developed impressive expertise and a "certain know-how" associated with a collection of unique strains. Its international adventure began in 2000 while remaining a supplier to its parent company.

EuroMycel bases its development on its own approach, namely that the genetics of Agaricus bisporus is certainly not the limiting factor of biotransformation.

The highly specialized EuroMycel mushroom spawn fulfills the expectations of fresh and mechanical harvest growers. Our selection process is unique because the master cultures are sorted according to their specific interaction with compost.

We supply millions of liters of spawn to the Polish, French, North European, Chinese, Hungarian, Israeli, and Indian markets, with strains grown on the best possible medium for the genetic expression of our strains: rye.

Our flagship varieties are the E58 Premium (E58 P) and the E21. The variety E58 P is one of the most popular white bud mushroom strains worldwide and the E21 is a highly productive, smooth, white, hybrid strain, ideal for the canning industry.

Mushroom days: We like to welcome you to our booth N° 36

You can reach our Sales Manager Northern Europe, Jeroen Dunant: at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: +31 (0)6 82183632

Or our Sales Director Poland Ryszard Gnus: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: +48601566644

Or our head office: SAS EuroMycel - La Croix Senard, 37220 L'Île-Bouchard - FranceEmail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. – Phone number:+33 2 47 97 03 55

Website: www.euromycel.com

Strain products of EuroMycel

EuroMycel are experts in industrial microbiology applied to selecting and propagating mushroom mycelium cultures.
The company has several different strains in their product portfolio:

E58 Premium for the fresh market
E58 HD for the industrial market
E21 for the industrial market

E58 Premium for the fresh market

The E58 Premium is one of the most popular white bud mushroom strains worldwide. This dominant, mid-range, medium size, off-white mushroom strain is particularly relevant for the fresh market, because of its extensive spread of first flush and a long shelf life. It combines high density sporocarp with a thick cuticle, together with a high yield. The average size is 50 mm with great potential to produce larger mushrooms.

E58 HD for the industrial market

This off-white, hybrid strain is the perfect counterpart to the E58 premium. It combines a mixed profile, due to its bulbous stipe, and a higher productivity of first choice mushrooms. It is suitable, for either, the fresh market or an industrial, mechanical harvest.

 E21 for the industrial market

This is a highly productive, smooth, white, hybrid strain, ideal for the canning industry, with a quick mushroom tissue maturation process to supply a high performing, technical yield. It provides a good balance between the yields of first and second flush. It is acknowledged for ease and speed of harvesting, due to a homogenous pinhead formation and a straight cylindrical stem. Crop management can provide a high yield of homogeneous mushrooms, ranging in size from 35 to 80 mm.

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

Quite a while ago Walkro organized a study trip to France and asked EuroMycel to help in this. Unfortunately due to the Covid restrictions the trip had to be delayed until further notice. Then finally the journey took off on September 22nd!

The study trip lasted from September 22nd to September 25th and the program was fully packed with interesting company visits, presentations and amongst learning from each other, a lot of pleasure together. Walkro, the initiator of this study trip, gathered a number of sponsors to get the program well organized.
Sponsors were: Christiaens Group, MC Substradd, Legro, Gicom, Sylvan and Walkro.

On Wednesday September 22nd the group that consisted of Dutch growers, sponsors and organizers, travelled to the Bonduelle facilities in Estrees-Mons by bus. They received a tour in the fields of the Bonduelle yellow beans and visited their factory.

On Thursday morning a visit to the Bonduelle Compost & Yield in La Tourte was scheduled. This was quite interesting especially for Walkro, because here they saw how colleagues work with the same product.
In the afternoon the study group was invited by EuroMycel on their premises. The tour facilitator was Frédéric Mathieu, operational director EuroMycel, and Yves & Rémy of the lab, they are very important for the Operational team. Also Jeroen Dunant, our sales manager, who is our eyes and ears in the field and helps us expand with new customers and in new countries. The tour was received with a lot of enthusiasm! The group was pleasantly surprised and impressed by Euromycel's way of working, given the fact that they are a relatively new player in the industry. Also sharing knowledge amongst colleagues who work with the same products, was well respected.

Photo to the right:

From left to right below:
Frederic Mathieu, Jeroen Dunant, Eddy Alkemade

From left to right above:
Yves Moriamez, Evert Jan Mink, Remy Maufrand

EuroMycel took the whole group on an eventful evening program, which took place in the Caves Angelliaume. Cave Painctes in Chinon. They were welcomed by gentlemen holding the title “Confrérie des Entonneurs Rabalaisiens”. In English “Brotherhood of Rabalaisien Entonneurs”.
Dinner was accompanied by a wine arrangement and theatre performance. There was also a surprise for several people who got acknowledged for some special activities in the Mushroom Industry.
 

Interesting cultural and historical fact to mention is that the location of EuroMycel, L`Ile Bouchard in the Loire region, is well known for the combination of wine and mushrooms. Hence the set-up of the evening program. The wine was produced on the land and the mushrooms in the caves, the name Champignon de Paris stems from this fact.


On Friday 24^th, the group left for Saumur and Paris to spend some time in the ‘City of light’!
The study group packed their luggage for their journey back home. And not only with what they came with, but also with many new and interesting experiences!

The whole Walkro group at the wine tasting facility
at Caves Angelliaume. Cave Painctes in Chinon”

EuroMycel are experts in industrial microbiology applied to selecting and propagating mushroom mycelium cultures.
The French biotechnology laboratory, EuroMycel, is part of Bonduelle Group and benefits from its international reputation.

EuroMycel’s laboratory is also part of an 100% integrated industry with expertise throughout the mushroom production process, from start to finish. EuroMycel laboratory’s main focus is the selection and propagation of Agaricus mushroom strains and the creation of unique products.

In a rapidly changing mushroom world, EuroMycel are strong players and are holding their own, all thanks to their know-how. From the way they have managed to differentiate their breeding strategy, to the quality of their varieties through to their organisational flexibility.

The company has several different strains, but two of them are first class showpieces.
• First, the strain E21, developed for mechanised harvesting. It is the undisputed leader in sales, in France, and has rapidly gained popularity in The Netherlands and Belgium over the last 3 years.
• Second, and most promising, the strain E58 Premium, developed for the fresh market. It is the sales leader in Poland, and it has been very quickly adopted and mastered by Russian mushroom producers. Devoted to and customised for the fresh food market, its qualities include its ability to move towards larger, slower-growing mushrooms, and its keen water holding capacity. It is an accomplished and leading strain, ahead of the game.

Spawn connected with your success.