Mycorena AB, a food tech company located in Göteborg, Sweden, created one of the most innovative and sustainable vegan protein for food, using a proprietary fungi-based process. The research work carried out in Sweden by Mycorena’s founder and CEO Dr. Ramkumar’s Nair, formed the basis of the concept of creating Mycorena’s unique fungi-based protein – Promyc.
The company successfully developed a proprietary process based on fungi biotechnology, to create vegan protein for food products in the most resource-efficient and sustainable way. It envisions being the world’s leading brand for fungi-based products made possible through biotechnology.
Our team of professional engineers and business people are on a mission to create a sustainable and healthy protein alternative to current protein products.
Mycorena AB
Promyc, the main product of Mycorena AB, is a vegan protein ingredient with a neutral taste and a meat-like texture. Promyc has been impressing chefs and culinary enthusiasts and delivers a nutritious content of 60% protein and 12% fiber. Promyc has significantly lower environmental impact than animal or plant-based alternatives, as shown in the table below:
| You would need an entire tennis court to farm enough soy to feed 1 person for a whole year. With Promyc, you only need a small apartment. | To make 1 kg of Chicken, you use about 10 bathtubs full of water. | A single (beef) burger creates as much CO2 as a 50 Km car drive. |
| Promyc needs 9 times less! | 1 kg of Promyc uses almost 10 times less! | You would need to eat 23 Promyc burgersto be this bad! |
Mycoprotein is not a novelty. This alternative protein source is already common in the market in countries like Sweden, UK or US. The innovation lies firstly, in the use of different fungi that allow for a better texture and better nutrition, and secondly, in an innovative process that creates a circular economy approach solving the global problems of food waste and food sustainability.
How it’s made?
Mycorena AB has specialized and optimized the process to convert by-products and side-streams rich in carbohydrates into a protein-rich fungi biomass. This 4 step process includes:
- Substrate & Fungi Preparation: The substrate of the fermentation is often raw material from tuber crops. Alternatively, side-streams from food industries can be used for custom solutions. The substrate is prepared to make sure the fermentation process happens in the most efficient way. A small volume of Mycorena proprietary fungi starter culture is added to kick-start the fermentation process.
- Fermentation & Biomass Production: At the heart of Promyc production lies the fermentation process. The custom-designed bioreactors provide the fungi with the optimum growth conditions in a highly controlled environment. At the end of the fermentation, the starter culture has grown to more than 10 000 times its original size. Mycorena filamentous fungi grow in a highly branched network, called mycelium. This growth characteristic is what gives the final product its pleasant texture.
- Downstream Processing: After fermentation, the fungal biomass is separated from the remaining liquid, which has now been depleted of most of its organic loading. The fresh fungal biomass is processed according to the desired application. Characteristics such as nutrient composition, texture, water content or other parameters can be modulated and customized at this step as required for the final product.
- Product Formulation: Rigorous QC with various analytical methods ensures the consistently high quality of the product from start to finish. Promyc leaves the fermentation facilities and is now ready to be turned into delicious and nutritious food products. This final step will largely depend on the customer’s applications and areas of expertise.
The company’s demo plant is already on the move and expected to be finalised by 2021. Pilot production units are a valuable facility for testing and validating the process in a large scale.
A production unit of 10 m3 enables the production of up to 1000 kg Promyc per week.
Mycorena AB
Mycorena AB is expecting to be fully operational in the market by 2022. This is expected to occur in association with large food companies that will own the first Promyc product in the market.
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