UK’s ‘The Magical Mushroom Co.’ to Start Large Scale Production of its Plastic-Free Packaging Made from Mushrooms
15 March 2021: The 100% biodegradable alternative to polystyrene is already being snapped up by major brands, as the company sets its sights set on rapid European expansion
The Magical Mushroom Co. (MMC), announced the launch of large-scale production of its mushroom-derived biodegradable packaging, a plastic-free alternative that can be broken up to biodegrade on a home compost heap or flowerbed. Uniquely, this new packaging offers the same performance, at comparable cost, to traditional polystyrene, and is already being used to protect goods ranging from cookers, to cosmetics and a huge variety of everyday consumer products, including Diageo’s non-alcoholic gin brand, Seedlip.
This extraordinary packaging is made possible through mycelium composite technology, pioneered and patented by US firm Ecovative Design LLC. The process takes the post-processing waste from agricultural products such as hemp, hops, corn and timber and combines them with mycelium – the root system of the mushroom. This living material is then grown to shape using 3D moulds of the packaging design. These moulds are baked, hardening the material and preventing any further growth. The full process, from design to prototype takes just 14 days.
MMC Holding International Ltd. trading as The Magical Mushroom Co., has the exclusive EU, UK and Ireland licence to produce Mushroom® Packaging. Its first facility, in Esher, Surrey, began production in August 2020 and has capacity to produce more than a million packaging units per year.
They will open a second UK plant in 2021, increasing total production to more than three million units per year. This will be followed by the opening of plants in Bulgaria and Italy, which together will provide production capacity for the EU of more than six million units annually. A third continental European plant (in Germany) will open in 2022.
With polystyrene causing immense environmental harm, a commercially viable and practical alternative is essential. Packaging produced by MMC is 100% biodegradable at home and breaks down in soil within 40 days. It also fully breaks down in water in just 180 days, meaning it has the long-term potential to significantly reduce the level of plastic waste in our oceans.
