Magical Mushroom Company

What Magical Mushroom Company does

Magical Mushroom Company (legal entity MMC Holding International Ltd) is a UK-based industrial biomaterials manufacturer that produces Mushroom® Packaging, a mycelium-based protective packaging material grown from agricultural by-products (primarily hemp at 98% of feedstock) and custom-engineered moulds. Founded in 2019 and operating from Beeston, Nottinghamshire, with a 17,500 sq ft UK headquarters, an additional manufacturing site in Attenborough, an R&D centre in Addlestone (Surrey), and a European manufacturing facility in Sofia, Bulgaria, the company positions itself as Europe's first industrial-scale mycelium packaging manufacturer. Production takes approximately 6-7 days from inoculation to finished product, with the material fully dried and biologically inactive before shipment; it is certified to match expanded polystyrene (EPS) on vibration, drop, edge crush, thermal (-70C to -25C), and humidity cycle performance.

The company generates revenue primarily through bespoke enterprise contracts to design and manufacture protective packaging that replaces EPS, polyethylene foam, extruded polystyrene foam, and die-cut inserts for industrial clients (e.g. BA Kitchens, ICAX Heat Pumps, Castrads, Raymarine, Flextronics), complemented by a growing portfolio of luxury, electronics, FMCG, beauty, health, and visual merchandising accounts (e.g. Stella McCartney via LVMH, Alexander McQueen, Renais Gin, MONC Eyewear, SkyDiamond). A secondary revenue stream is the Mushroom 4 off-the-shelf e-commerce line (gift boxes, corner protectors) sold through magicalmushroom-shop.com. Pricing is quote-based, reportedly cost-competitive with EPS and moulded fibre at industrial scale, and supported by the UK plastic packaging tax of £223.69 per tonne from April 2025.

MMC has raised approximately £4.1 million in external capital to date (£3 million seed round in June 2022 from undisclosed investors, plus £1.1 million in Innovate UK loan and Smart Grant funding), holds ISO 9001:2015 certification (February 2022), and has filed multiple patents with founder and CEO Paul Gilligan listed as co-inventor. The leadership team combines deep packaging-industry operating expertise (Adam Barnett, CEO of Korozo Group) with legal, governance, and brand-building credentials (Alix Kamerling of DLA Piper, Jon Hartland formerly of Sainsbury's, Greg Nugent formerly CMO of Eurostar and the London 2012 Olympics), positioning the company to scale industrial production toward its stated 2026 target of approximately 10 million pieces.

Name

Magical Mushroom Company

Legal name

MMC Holding International Ltd

Website

https://magicalmushroom.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Magical Mushroom Company manufactures Mushroom® Packaging, an industrial-scale mycelium-based protective packaging grown from agricultural by-products that replaces EPS for enterprise customers across industrial, luxury, electronics, and consumer goods sectors in the UK and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Protective Packaging

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Protective & Cushioning Materials (Paper Cushions, Bio-Foams, Mycelium) (IMALAMAH)

Keywords

• Mycelium packaging
• Biodegradable protective packaging
• Mushroom packaging materials
• EPS replacement solutions
• Eco-friendly industrial packaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Esher

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Mushroom Packaging Manufacturing: Bespoke design and manufacturing of mycelium-based protective packaging for enterprise clients. Cost-competitive with EPS at industrial scale. Revenue from product units sold to replace polystyrene packaging.
2. Design and Prototyping Services: Phased design process from 3D printed soft tooling prototyping through to hard tool manufacturing. Includes testing and quality approval phases before production.
3. Off-the-Shelf E-commerce Products: Mushroom 4 e-commerce venture making off-the-shelf Mushroom Packaging ranging from gift boxes to corner protectors available through magicalmushroom-shop.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Magical Mushroom Company manufactures Mushroom® Packaging, a custom-engineered protective packaging grown from mycelium and agricultural by-products (primarily hemp) that directly replaces expanded polystyrene (EPS) and plastic foam inserts. The company operates Europe's first industrial-scale mycelium packaging manufacturing facilities, producing millions of units annually for enterprise clients across industrial, luxury, electronics, FMCG, and beauty sectors. They also offer off-the-shelf packaging products (gift boxes, corner protectors) through a dedicated e-commerce shop.

Product overview

Magical Mushroom Company offers a single core product: Mushroom® Packaging, a mycelium-based protective packaging solution. This is not a software platform but rather a physical manufacturing output. Mushroom® Packaging is grown from mycelium combined with agricultural by-products (primarily hemp at 98% of products) into custom-engineered moulds to create protective packaging in virtually any size or geometry. The company operates as Europe’s first industrial-scale mycelium packaging manufacturer, producing millions of units annually since 2020. The product serves as a direct replacement for traditional fossil fuel-based packaging materials like EPS, PE, XPS, and die-cut inserts. The finished material is dried and biologically inactive before leaving the facility, ensuring it will not grow or sprout, and naturally biodegrades in around 45 days in the right conditions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mushroom Packaging: Core product brand - biodegradable packaging made from mycelium and agricultural by-products, serving as direct replacement for expanded polystyrene (EPS)

Products and services

• Mushroom® Packaging Industrial-scale protective packaging grown from mycelium and agricultural by-products (primarily hemp at 98%), serving as a direct replacement for expanded polystyrene (EPS), polyethylene (PE) foam, extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam, and die-cut packaging inserts. The material is fully biodegradable in approximately 45 days, home compostable without industrial facilities, biodigestable, hydrophobic, vegan, cruelty-free, and thermally insulating. Production takes approximately 6-7 days from inoculation to finished product. Available as custom-engineered bespoke packaging for enterprise clients and as off-the-shelf products (gift boxes, corner protectors) through e-commerce. Sold to industrial manufacturers, luxury brands, electronics OEMs, FMCG companies, and beauty/wellness brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Biodegrades in approximately 45 days in garden/soil conditions
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of NottinghamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for R&D support. Research Associate Sem Abit works in collaboration with University of Nottingham. MSc in Drug Discovery from University of Nottingham and Narasimhan's MSc from University of Nottingham. Ongoing material research integration with repeatable manufacturing systems.
• UK Government (EY National Equality Standard)minorOthersUsing UK Government backed EY National Equality Standard framework to assess and improve equality, diversity and inclusion practices across the organisation.
• North (Design Agency)minorOthersWebsite design by North (northdesign.co.uk), credited in footer of magicalmushroom.com website.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Notpla: UK-based sustainable packaging company making seaweed-based films, coatings, and rigid packaging (e.g. Ooho). Comparable as a brand-led, bio-alternative packaging challenger pursuing the same ESG-mandated substitution market as MMC, but with a different feedstock (seaweed vs. mycelium/hemp).
• Cruz Foam: US-based sustainable packaging company producing mycelium and chitin-based protective packaging as a polystyrene alternative. Comparable to MMC in product function (protective inserts) and target customers (electronics, consumer goods), with a US-led go-to-market.
• Bolt Threads: US-based biomaterials company developing mycelium-based leather (Mylo) and other bio-fabricated materials. Comparable to MMC as a mycelium platform company with adjacent (non-packaging) end markets and a larger capital base.

Direct peers

• Grown.bio: Dutch mycelium packaging manufacturer producing custom-moulded mycelium protective packaging as a polystyrene alternative. Direct competitor to MMC in European industrial and consumer protective packaging.
• Ecovative Design: US-based original pioneer of mycelium composite packaging (MycoComposite, Forager Hides). Directly comparable to MMC as a mycelium packaging manufacturer; also an MMC technology licensor and seed-round investor, blurring competitor/partner dynamics.
• Mycelia: Belgium-based mycelium materials startup producing mycelium-based packaging and leather alternatives. Closest European direct peer to MMC in the mycelium packaging category, targeting the same EPS-replacement use cases.

Others

• Korozo Group: Global flexible and protective packaging manufacturer whose CEO (Adam Barnett) joined MMC's board and invested in 2024. Comparable as an industry incumbent with packaging expertise that MMC can leverage, and a potential strategic/channel partner.

Broad incumbents

• Smurfit Kappa: Global paper-based packaging leader with extensive moulded fibre and corrugated protective packaging portfolio. Comparable as a large-scale sustainable protective packaging supplier and a primary alternative buyers benchmark against MMC.
• Sealed Air Corporation: Global protective packaging incumbent (Bubble Wrap, Instapak foam-in-place, Cryovac). Direct incumbent competitor in the protective packaging category MMC targets; the primary incumbent whose EPS and foam volumes MMC is displacing.
• Mondi Group: Global packaging and paper group with significant protective and sustainable packaging operations across Europe. Comparable as a European incumbent whose paper-based protective packaging competes for the same customers MMC targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/magicalmshroom
• Facebookfacebook.com/magicalmushroomcompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/magical-mushroom-company

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Magical Mushroom Company