A UK startup is using an ancient fungal fermentation technique to transform discarded cocoa shells into a lower-cost, lower-carbon cocoa replacement. Fermtech's Koji Cocoa can reduce production emissions by 98% and cut ingredient costs for manufacturers by up to a third. With £2.5M in fresh funding, the Oxford-based company is moving towards commercial scale at a moment when cocoa prices and supply volatility are at historic extremes.

Harvesting can account for half of a farm's total production costs. Here is what the industry's most experienced growers are doing about it. This article is published in partnership with MushComb . A Booming Market With a Labour Problem The global mushroom market is large, growing, and structurally under-equipped. Valued at around $65 billion in 2024 , it is projected to exceed $100 billion by 2030, driven by rising demand for plant-based protein, functional nutrition, and a

Filamentous fungi produce enzymes, nanomaterials, and electrical signals that could underpin a new generation of biosensors capable of detecting pollutants, glucose, and pathogens. Mycelium networks generate structured electrical impulses that researchers are beginning to harness for unconventional computing and wearable sensing devices. A comprehensive review published in Biosensors maps five years of progress across molecular, material, and ecosystem scales, identifying bo

Researchers isolated 415 fungal endophytes from Spain's arid Cabo de Gata region, finding that select strains can suppress up to 15 crop pathogens while simultaneously boosting plant biomass. Dark septate endophytes showed particular promise, producing growth hormones, iron-scavenging compounds, and enzymes that improve nutrient uptake, even under saline or drought conditions. Compatibility testing revealed that certain fungicides routinely used in horticulture are harmful to

Swiss startup Kidemis AG is using solid-state mycelium fermentation of agricultural waste streams to produce a protein ingredient for fish feed, aiming for production volumes of up to 50,000 tonnes per year. In controlled trials, European perch fed diets containing 10% mycelium meal achieved roughly 30% higher final body weight than controls, with no meaningful changes to fillet quality or feed conversion. Rainbow trout trials suggest fishmeal can be replaced at up to 40% wit