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.

A Polish research and production centre Extract Home is applying pharmaceutical-grade supercritical CO₂ extraction to functional mushrooms, producing standardised ingredients with verified bioactive profiles. Their flagship Lion's Mane extract is standardised to 10% hericenones and 22% ergosterol, setting a new benchmark for ingredient transparency. Research conducted with Warsaw's SGGW university confirms that CO₂-extracted oils achieve oxidative stability indices two to fou

Through their underground networks, fungi physically connect to plant roots, enabling the transfer of nutrients and chemical signals between trees: a system ecologists call the "Wood Wide Web."

Danish mycelium company Rebound and Det Levende Hus have developed a prototype interior door with a core grown from cultivated fungi, framed in reclaimed timber.

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