Magical Mushroom Company raises £3m in seed funding to expand production facilities
The seed round was led by Ecovative Design to fund the opening of a new raw material production plant.
Magical Mushroom Company develops biodegradable packaging materials using agricultural waste and mycelium as an alternative to plastics.
Magical Mushroom Company has secured £3m in seed financing to scale its sustainable packaging operations. The round was led by Ecovative Design, with additional backing from Dale Vince, Robert Del Naja, and Marcus Watson alongside a syndicate of thirty investors.
The capital will finance the launch of the firm's inaugural raw material production facility in Nottinghamshire. Spanning 10,000 square feet, the Beeston plant will bring manufacturing in-house and create up to 15 regional jobs.
Additional proceeds will target automation upgrades across existing sites in the UK and Bulgaria to increase output and reduce unit costs. The firm utilises mycelium technology to deliver compostable alternatives to conventional polystyrene packaging.
From the founder
"We have just eight years to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and businesses have a crucial role to play – but they need viable and cost-effective solutions that significantly reduce the carbon footprint across their entire supply chain. We’re proud to be creating value from waste and unlocking the potential of mycelium – a resource that has been untapped to date. We’re delighted to have the support of a brilliant group of investors who have a wealth of experience in driving sustainable change and share our vision for the future of packaging solutions. The magic of mushrooms is only just being realised and we can’t wait to make it mainstream."
Paul Gilligan
CEO & founder at Magical Mushroom Company
Investor perspective
"The packaging industry is ripe for change and innovative solutions must be supported so that we can move away from our reliance on fossil fuels. In the Magical Mushroom Company, a viable alternative already exists that is producing high-quality sustainable packaging on an industrial scale. Paul and his team have made incredible progress in a short period of time as demonstrated with the opening of their latest high-tech plant in the UK. We were inspired by their vision to scale the business and we’re looking forward to supporting their mission to help remove polystyrene packaging from manufacturing supply chains."
Thomas Van Haren
Director of MycoComposites, Ecovative Design
Use of funds
- 01Scale operations
- 02Build out infrastructure
Investors
Categories
About the company
Magical Mushroom Company
Magical Mushroom Company manufactures sustainable packaging from mycelium and agricultural waste.