Five motivating factors to establish a mushroom farm
The CEO and co-founder of Agro-Projects Group, Daniel Dajewski, discusses why an increasing number of investors are thinking about getting into the mushroom industry.
Return on investment is the main factor to be taken into account when considering growing mushroom farming operations. One could argue that establishing a contemporary mushroom farm is more expensive than starting a cucumber or tomato farm. An air conditioning system for controlling temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels is essential for mushroom cultivation. Other requirements include specifically built structures, steel or aluminum shelves, machinery, watering and cooling systems, and much more. For instance, due to abnormally high raw material prices, 2,700 tonnes of mushrooms can be produced year with an average of 9,500 m2 of growing space and an estimated €5,7 million in investment (spring 2022).
Still, mushrooms might be the best product to market. A recent analysis, released in March 2022, estimates that the size of the worldwide mushroom industry was estimated at $50.3 billion in 2021 and is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% between 2022 and 2030. Over the course of the forecast period, the growing vegan population’s demand for a diet high in protein is anticipated to be a major driving force in the market.1. In fact, mushrooms were named the “Ingredient of the Year 2022” by The New York Times.2.
When an investor builds a mushroom farm, they are getting a product that doesn’t need any marketing because mushrooms are virtually universally widely marketed by the industry. UMDIS Mushroom Information Agency in Ukraine, Bund Deutscher Champignon-und Kulturpilzanbauer E.V. in Germany, Stowarzyszenie Branży Grzybów Uprawnych in Poland, The Mushroom Council in the United States, Australian Mushroom Growers Association in Australia, and other organizations are some examples of these marketing initiatives.
Agro-Projects cautions that the mushroom industry is extremely difficult, and that an investor may easily fail at the first step of building up a farm that would yield enough high-quality mushrooms per square meter if they do not hire an experienced contractor for their mushroom farm.
Trends in food that mushrooms can accommodate
In Italy, the proportion of vegetarians climbed from 7.1 to 8.9 percent between 2019 and 2020; in Germany, the amount of meat substitutes consumed in 2020 was 25.5 million kg, up approximately 82% from 2019; in the US, roughly 10% of people identified as vegans or vegetarians in 2022.
The “meaty” texture, high nutrient content, and satisfying aftertaste of mushrooms are some of their many advantages. The “The Blend” campaign, which involves eating burgers, tacos, spaghetti, and other foods with finely chopped fresh mushrooms mixed with the ground meat, is being used by the Mushroom Council in the US.Six The campaign calls for eateries to provide burgers with a minimum of 25% mushrooms and adds “Blend” to school lunches, among other things.
2. A nutritious diet that wards off illness
According to Harvard University, mushrooms are incredibly healthful and contain vitamins B2, B3, folate, and B5, as well as phosphorus, selenium, copper, potassium, and antioxidants.7. Additionally, the National University of Singapore is studying the benefits of mushrooms in preventing dementia, while Penn State University in the US conducts research and publishes articles regarding the anti-aging potential8 and cancer-prevention potential9 of mushrooms. The media has highlighted these subjects, especially in relation to avoiding dementia: pieces akin to those published in the New York Times, BBC, Business Insider, and Forbes have all been published. All those in the mushroom sector need to do is tell customers that mushrooms are healthy.
3. Vitamin D insanity
Many customers took vitamin D supplements prior to and during the Covid-19 epidemic because of its critical role in immune function. It’s interesting to note that when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, like sunlight or a UV lamp, mushrooms can produce biologically significant levels of vitamin D. This is a trait that the Mushroom Council and many American mushroom farms actively encourage.Monterey Mushrooms has actually written an eBook specifically for merchants and retail dietitians on the subject of vitamin D in mushrooms.15
4. Umami-flavored foods
Umami was coined more than a century and sixteen years ago as the fifth flavor, joining sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Fortunately for mushrooms, Akira Kuninaka of Japan discovered in 1957 that shiitake mushrooms contain guanosine monophosphate (GMP), a nucleotide rich in umami flavor.17 Thanks to marketing experts in the mushroom sector, consumers are now aware that umami, which is present in almost all mushrooms, can be incredibly flavorful and fulfilling, allowing for a 50% reduction in salt and highlighting sweetness while taming bitter flavors.18
5. Ecological Viability
These statistics demonstrate that mushroom growing is one of the most sustainable forms of food production, according to Agro-Projects` clients – which makes it relatively easy for them to get grants and funding to build a mushroom farm.
American expert Anne-Marie Roerink, who is the principal of 210 Analytics and author of “The Power of Produce” and “The Power of Meat” explains the main reasons for mushrooms’ popularity: “There are three levers of growth for any product, brand or category: you can have more people buy it, have people buy it more often and have people spend a little more because they are buying more or experimenting with different varieties. The more of these that apply, the stronger the trend”.23 All of which apply to mushrooms.