By Roel Dreve SPAWN
OurCelia: a new chapter
On 15 September, Ecovative announced the rather surprising sale of Ecovative Spawn & Substrate BV to the Klerken family, known for Scelta Mushrooms. The new name: OurCelia. We reflected on the past and looked forward with owner Jan Klerken, Eric van Asselt - the new Director Strategy and Innovation - and Managing Director of the Venlo spawn factory Ies Hooglugt.
T
he history of the Klerken family is well-known. Jan Klerken’s father founded Champex in 1963. As well as growing mushrooms, the
company soon started processing mushrooms. Jan started Scelta Mushrooms in 1993, a family business that continued to expand and has since built global fame based on its core values of ‘Taste, Health and Sustainability’. Various production companies (Essenza, Champi-mer, Come and Scelta Umami) are managed from the impressive headquarters in Venlo. They supply mushrooms in a variety of forms to the global food industry and constantly devise new inno- vations, which Jan, as a true ‘Ambassador of the Mushroom Industry’, always manages to bring to worldwide attention.
Ies Hooglugt in the OurCelia spawn facility in Venlo. He leads an experienced team of 20, some of which have been mushroom growers themselves. ‘We complete, trust and listen to each other’.
38 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
Back to basics The company is undergoing a transition in management terms. Three directors, including CEO and ‘son of’ Jules Klerken and COO Willem v.d. Vorst will expand and further consolidate Scelta’s presence and position. Eric van Asselt, who previously was a director at CNC, was recently appointed as innovation director. As Jan Klerken explained while we enjoyed some delicious homemade mushroom soup at the Scelta Institute, some shifts have taken place in the strategy. “We had started making more and more products that strayed from our ‘roots’, mushrooms, while I see myself as a ‘mushroom industry person’. Producing items like breaded mushroom snacks, for example, ultimately didn’t really align with our identity, so we sold the appetiser division to McCain. Our
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