Mushroom Material

Market position

The company positions itself against incumbent EPS/Styrofoam packaging and against earlier mycelium packaging approaches that grow fungi directly in moulds, which it characterises as too expensive and insufficiently scalable for large global distributors. It has been named to Cleantech Group's 2024 "50 to Watch" list, listed among top sustainability startups in New Zealand, named "Next Big Thing" at the 2025 SBN Awards and a Sustainable Business Network Next List finalist, and nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize.

Its pelletised growth method is presented as the key differentiator from conventional mycelium packaging, which grows fungi over one to two weeks inside individual moulds. Pellets can be produced in bulk and bound or compression moulded into customer-specified shapes using standard EPS moulding equipment and existing supply chains, which the company frames as addressing both scalability and cost-competitiveness, alongside home compostability and a claimed material performance match to polystyrene.

Technology

Mycelium is grown on agricultural and organic waste to produce large volumes of pellets, which are coated in a binding agent or biopolymer and compression moulded into customised shapes. The approach is designed to integrate with existing styrofoam production lines and moulding machinery rather than requiring new equipment. The company describes performance comparable to polystyrene for impact resistance and thermal and acoustic insulation, low density, natural water resistance and fire retardancy, and cites a design requirement of shelf stability for up to two years alongside compostability in weeks to months.

Go-to-market

The company works directly with manufacturers and distributors that currently use EPS, designing replacement packaging around their products and offering samples and specifications through its website. It has built pipeline through inbound interest, industry events and accelerator and trade programmes, including Techstars in Singapore, SWITCH in Singapore, Cleantech Forum Asia, JEC World in Paris and the ASB CleanTech Trek.

Manufacturers, brands and distributors shipping products that currently rely on single-use polystyrene foam protection, including electronics, appliances and furniture companies, as well as businesses facing plastic packaging taxes, bans and recyclability targets in markets such as the EU, UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Geography

Headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, with an office in Singapore and the company registered in Singapore; a 1,300 sqm pilot plant is being established in Mount Roskill, Auckland. The company supplies businesses globally and has cited commercial interest across the Asia region, with a stated long-term plan for a commercial-scale plant in Southeast Asia.

History

Founded in 2020 by Shaun Seaman and Jotinder Singh, the company followed roughly three years of kitchen-bench and garage experimentation that produced compostable mycelium pellets compatible with existing EPS moulding lines. It raised a pre-seed round of $470,000 led by Icehouse Ventures, and became the second New Zealand company accepted into the Techstars accelerator in Singapore. In August 2024 it announced a seed round of over US$5 million to fund a 1,300 sqm pilot plant in Mount Roskill, Auckland, with the plant intended to open officially by the end of 2024 and customer deliveries to begin in 2025. The company states total funding of US$5.7 million and subsequently rebranded as Naturally Genius.

Risks & controversies

The founder has described difficulty raising capital in New Zealand and said offshore investors produced a more favourable valuation, and the company registered in Singapore. Scaling remains the stated principal challenge: the business plan requires continued fundraising, including a Series A and an estimated $50 million commercial-scale plant in Southeast Asia. Technical constraints include balancing up to two years of shelf durability with rapid degradation, and the company has said some applications such as food containers are likely a decade away.