farming fungi llc maine technology institute seed grants for ag & food business smm january 2013
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Farming Fungi LLC
Maine Technology Institute Seed Grants for Ag & Food Business
SMM January 2013
Farming Fungi llc
Maine’s newest commercial mushroom producer,
selling under the Mousam Valley brand
Mission : Sustainably grow and market healthy, innovative organic foods. Maximize customer value while minimizing waste.
Vision: “Organically Grown, and Family Owned”
Located in Springvale, growing hardwood based specialty mushrooms sold thru retail stores and restaurants. First shipments start March 2013
$59mm US Specialty Mushroom Market, 12% + volume, 10% + price
Millennials “would much rather invest in healthy, sustainable, and, yes, perhaps pricier food... than buy the cheapest food-like substance possible ...They also use their ...choices to communicate their values and sensibilities – NEXT 2013
About 10% of the population consumes Fresh Mushrooms at least once in two weeks
Adults 55+ are the most likely to consume Fresh Mushrooms, and this population group is projected to grow in the next ten years
White/Non-Hispanics are the heaviest consumers of Fresh Mushrooms, however Asian consumers are almost twice as likely to consume - US Mushroom Council
Our Target Market
Primary Consumer types: Millennials, 55+, European and Asian cultural descent
Geography: Montreal to NYC and west to UpState NY
=Max 1 day round trip from our facility to maintain freshness
Channels: High end grocery chains and natural food markets, restaurants and socially aware communities
Our Products
Hardwood based organic mushrooms
Packed in 100% compostable bulk trays and consumer store packages
Mousam Valley Brand for Maine grown foods
Indoor, Year-Round Growing
Maintain our own genetic strains
Produce our own spawn in a separate lab
Chip our own organic wood, pasteurize it and inoculate it with our spawn
Grow in rooms where we control light, temperature, humidity, airflow, CO2 and access
“Fruit” in similarly controlled rooms
Every species has it own “recipe” or “recipes”
Pick, pack and ship in controlled environments
Our New Technology and MTI Grant
Complete Lot Traceability system
Genetic strain + wood lot to consumer pak and reverse
Huge attention from Grocery chains
Computerized Control system tracking all elements of production and status of all control parameters for every lot produced
Efficiency and research tool + safety tool
$25k MTI Seed capital grant to create and prove system
Current Status
Nearing completion of 4000k sq ft, $250k Stage 1 project. Can expand to almost 10k sq ft in same building
Produce shipments start in March
Employees
Robert Sharood - President
Hannah Nichols - Operations Manager
Jacob Auger - Quality and lab Manager
Emily Sharood – Marketing
John Sharood- CFO
Consultants
AR Williams Creative – Rod Williams
Alec Mckenzie Engineering and Design
Questions?
Robert SharoodJacob AugerHannah Nichols
Appendix
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