Kynda

Mycelium is the future - and not just on your plate. 🍽️ At Milan Design Week, Kia unveiled the interior of its EV2 electric SUV, featuring cabin materials made from hemp, flax, recycled textiles - and yes, mycelium. 🍄 Two types were used: one infused into polyurethane for visible texture, and another grown into solid form for structural elements like door armrests. They’ve also swapped synthetic seat shells for recyclable flax fiber composites. At Kynda, we’re growing the same powerful material - in bioreactors. Mycelium isn’t a trend. It’s a movement spanning every industry. #Mycelium #Vehicles #Sustainability #SustainableDesign

Is fungi the future of fashion and furniture? Brussels researchers are heading to Milan Design Week with fashion and furniture made from mycelium (the root structure of fungi). Grown on agricultural waste and even toxic dye water, this natural material is being used as a sustainable alternative to leather and plastic. The team from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has already made a handbag, PhD researcher Annah-Ololade Sangosanya has created a full mycelium coat, and Anouk Verstuyft has designed a furniture line. It’s all part of the Myco Matters project, proving fungi aren’t just for food- they’re for the future. #Mycelium #Fashion #Sustainability

What do your morning coffee and mushrooms have in common? A future without plastic. ☕🍄♻️ Researchers at the University of Washington have created a compostable plastic alternative using used coffee grounds and Reishi mushroom spores. This unlikely duo can be 3D printed into lightweight, water-resistant packaging - and the secret lies in mycelium. Once inoculated, the mushroom’s root-like skin grows over the object, forming a strong, compostable shell that rivals Styrofoam. At Kynda, we know mycelium is more than just fungi - it’s a flexible, scalable material with huge potential. From alt-protein to alt-plastic, its natural ability to bind, grow, and adapt is reshaping how we make, eat, and live. We're inspired by this kind of innovation because the future of materials should be regenerative, not disposable. Read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/dg5GtEqa Image credit: Luo et al./3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing #Mycelium #Sustainability #Packaging

How a Ukrainian startup is replacing foam with fungi 🍄. Startup S Lab has developed biodegradable packaging made from industrial hemp stems and mushroom mycelium. Inspired by plastic pollution on a beach in Bali, they returned to Ukraine and created a foam-like material that’s lightweight, durable, and breaks down in soil within 30 days. Traditional foam takes 300 years and contributes massively to global CO2 emissions. With support from the Mykola Kholodny Institute of Botany in Kyiv, the team perfected the formula and began growing mushrooms themselves. Their packaging now replaces plastic across industries - from restaurants to cosmetics and electronics. And with over 2 million tons of foam packaging produced globally each year, the impact of a natural alternative is huge. Read more about the alternative packaging here: https://lnkd.in/e_vgwJ2F #Mycelium #Sustainability #Packaging

Egg prices are rising - again - and it’s not just inflation. It’s a broken system. Recurring bird flu outbreaks are exposing just how fragile and outdated our animal-reliant food infrastructure really is. Disease spreads. Supply collapses. Prices spike. And nothing changes - because the economics of factory farming can’t support real reform. That’s why innovation isn’t optional - it’s inevitable. At Kynda, we’re creating protein from mycelium: scalable, disease-free, and independent of animal agriculture. It’s not just more sustainable - it’s more stable. And right now, stability is everything. We don’t need to fix the system. We need to replace it. #FutureOfFood #AlternativeProtein #Mycelium

Why fungi might be the most efficient problem-solvers on Earth 🤯 Fungi are nature’s silent masterminds. Networking, negotiating, and nourishing the planet without a single neuron. Mycorrhizal fungi, the underground lifelines of forests and fields, behave like living algorithms: calculating, optimising, and adapting their behaviour based on supply and demand. Thanks to groundbreaking work by Toby Kiers, Tom Shimizu, and their teams, we now have a rare glimpse into the invisible intelligence of fungal networks. Using an imaging robot, researchers watched as fungi made trade decisions in real time - choosing which plants to feed, which paths to leave, and which carbon-rich roots to prioritise, all based on simple but very effective rules. Fungi move 13 billion tons of carbon into the soil every year and help regulate Earth’s climate. Time they finally got some credit. 🌍🍄 Read the full New York Times piece by Alan Burdick here: https://lnkd.in/eZzJNwrF #Mycelium #Fungi #Climate

Dishing up plant based patties with The Raging Pig Co. 🍔 Amazing to see our friends The Raging Pig Co. launching their new Raging (Smash) Burger patties to rave reviews in Internorgas Newcomers Area this week. 🐷 If you get a chance to try them any time soon, you’re in for a treat. #Internorga #PlantBased #AlternativeProtein

Big news! 🎉 Kynda has been named in the 2024 FoodTech 500! We’ve been included in the list by Forward Fooding - alongside some of the most exciting companies shaping the future of food, tech, and sustainability. Out of 1,420+ applicants across 50+ countries, we’re honoured to be recognised for our work in rethinking what’s possible in food. A huge thank you to Forward Fooding for including us - and to our team, partners, and supporters who make this journey so rewarding. Find out how to sign up for the final list unveiling here: https://lnkd.in/eMP64QU #FoodTech500 #Innovation #FoodTech

A new era for plant-based smash burgers begins! 🍔 Our friends at The Raging Pig Co. have just launched their latest innovation: the (delicious) Raging Burger Patty. Made from peas and mushrooms, this plant-based patty is designed to meet the demands of professional kitchens - whether as a classic burger or a crispy, caramelised smash-burger. Dr. Arne Ewerbeck 🥓, founder of The Raging Pig Co., puts it best: “Smash-burgers are more popular than ever, but plant-based alternatives are often still overlooked in the foodservice industry. With our patty, we’re introducing a plant-based smash-burger to the market – flavourful, juicy, and perfect for professional kitchens.” With this launch, The Raging Pig Co. continues to expand beyond pork alternatives, proving that plant-based innovation is still smashing it. 💪 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/evNAfzAY #PlantBased #Innovation #AltProtein

How we raised €3M: what investors actually want in 2025 💰 Raising capital in food tech and alt protein isn’t easy. Investors are more cautious, and risk tolerance is lower than ever. But at Kynda, we secured a €3M round by focusing on what truly matters to VCs. Huge shout out to EnjoyVenture, Clima Now, PHW Group and CELL Invest. On the latest episode of the Investment Climate Podcast, our co-founder 🍄Daniel breaks down Kynda’s fundraising strategy: ✅ De-risking was key. We switched to a non-novel food strain, eliminating regulatory uncertainty and making investment far more attractive. ✅ Corporate partnerships built trust. Instead of vague LOIs, we placed a bioreactor on a dairy company’s factory floor, turning oat okara waste into microprotein in just a day. That hands-on proof made all the difference. ✅ Investors care about margins, not just mission. Sustainability is great, but businesses need cost-effective, scalable solutions. We pitched better taste, better prices, and better profits. Want to hear the full story? Have a listen: Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eeCiMniQ Apple: https://lnkd.in/ePexDAfa #FoodTech #AltProtein #ClimateTech #Fundraising #VentureCapital #DeepTech #StartupFunding