In this article:
- Whole Foods will start selling Fungi-based vegan products from Nature’s Fynd.
- Nature’s Fynd uses fungi from the hot springs of Yellowstone, and its fermentation process, to make protein.
- Vegan food made from mushrooms is expected to become increasingly popular.
Nature’s Fynd is the new “fun guy” hitting the aisles of Whole Foods.
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At the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods announced that it’s partnering with Nature’s Fynd, which makes vegan foods with fermented fungi, or mushrooms. Nature’s Fynd products will be available at Whole Foods locations in ten states in the U.S., on the east and west coast, and in Hawaii, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada, starting in April 2022. Nature’s Fynd makes vegan breakfast patties that mimic sausage, as well as vegan cream cheese. Prior to its collaboration with Whole Foods, Nature’s Fynd has mostly sold its foods directly to consumers and at select stores.
Nature’s Fynd makes its vegan products with a fungi strain known as Fusarium strain flavolapis, which can be found in the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. Then, the company uses its own “liquid-air” fermentation process to grow that fungi into something similar to “muscle fiber.” Mushrooms are reportedly more closely related to animals than they are to vegetables.
The protein Nature’s Fynd produces, which it calls Fy Protein, reportedly has nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. The company claims its fermentation process uses a fraction of the water, land, and energy used to develop traditional sources of protein, like meat. From there, Nature’s Fynd turns Fy protein to make original breakfast patties, maple-flavored patties, original cream cheese, and chive and onion cream cheese.
Vegan food made from mushrooms is becoming increasingly popular, according to AdWeek. In fact, the global mushroom market is expected to grow 9.7% to a $115.8 billion industry by 2030, as more people spend and consume with the climate in mind. Nature’s Fynd even commissioned popular science TikTok creator Hank Green to make a YouTube video explaining how Fy protein works. In 2021, Nature’s Fynd raised $347 million in funding. And the company is building a 200,000-square-foot research and development property in Chicago, where the company is based.
Whole Foods’ decision to offer Nature’s Fynd at its stores could indicate the growing prevalence of fungi-based vegan foods.