Mushroom based flour firm gets $200k investment

A Monaghan based AgTech start-up has been selected to take part in an accelerator programme, and will receive $200,000 dollars in pre-seed investment.

Niskus Biotec has been selected by Big Idea Ventures, a venture capital (VC) fund based between Paris, New York and Singapore, that runs a bi-annual protein accelerator programme aimed at identifying ways to feed a growing population sustainably. Niskus Biotec creates and develops enhanced ingredients for the food supply chain, and have already established their first product range: MycoGrain. MycoGrain is a protein rich flour, produced from mushroom mycelium which has been fermented to become suitable for use as a base ingredient in a number of food products. The Monaghan company says it can also tailor the taste, texture and aroma by changing the species of mushroom that is used in the fermenter.

MycoGrain founders Vincent Farrelly, Dr. Alejandra Omarini and Dr. Tony Callaghan recently established a production facility in the Ballybay Enterprise Hub. Niskus Biotec recently completed a 12-week accelerator programme for early stage agri-food start-ups with global potential, which was run by UCD. The company is currently taking part in a separate programme in Reading and in Cambridge in the UK, as one of 61 “high-impact, agri-food start-ups from across Europe”.