Ies Hooglugt (left) and Eben Bayer in front of the Lambert Spawn Europa building in Venlo.
infancy. Since then our cooperation has inten- sified and now, already 50% of our production capacity is dedicated to this purpose.” When the two companies started talks last year on stepping up cooperation, the outcome proved to be the sale of the spawn company. Asked if this represents a revolution for the ‘mushroom’ industry, to an extent maybe comparable with the emergence of phase III composting, Hooglugt says: “ I have not wit- nessed anything like these developments and innovations in my thirty years of experience in this industry. It is a totally new area, with a multitude of possible routes to follow, from building applications, to clothing, nutrients, medicine and more.”
This does not mean the facility in Venlo will cease production of spawn for the edible mushroom industry. “For our customers, nothing will really change, and we will continue to cooperate with Lambert Spawn USA.”
A new future for growers? For Ecovative, the Lambert acquisition brings spawn production under its own umbrella.
Bayer: “This reduces our dependence on external partners, and Lambert produces high quality spawn in the Netherlands, with its great infra- structure.” Hooglugt: “Another factor is the Lambert blender, that can be used in a more flexible way, shifting between smaller batches of spawn and substrate.” Both add that the vast know-how of Agaricus and the white button mushrooms growers Lambert works with, are also of interest to Ecovative. “We see a great future for these – Dutch – growers in producing a highly valuable product - mycelium - instead of a commodity - mushrooms. We want to partner with them, create a better - more manageable, and more sustainable - market together.” says Bayer. Hooglugt agrees: “It’s still a small market at present, but it’s growing fast and has enor- mous potential, whereas the edible mushroom market is facing many challenges. I think we’ve reached the tipping point now.”
Ecovative has a few growers involved in a pilot at the moment. Asked if anyone interested can step in right now, Bayer contemplates - just for a second - smiles and says: “Yes you can, but you have to be brave.”
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 35
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