The Mushroom Meat Co.

MUSHROOM BURGER ?? PROGRESS - Sneak Peak #2 By now most of you know I’ve been working on The Mushroom Meat Co.’s burger for a couple of years now. It’s my most challenging project to date; much more complex than our Steak Bites and Pulled Pork / Beef style products. Though they were pretty revolutionary at the time and are still the ???????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ????????, ????????, ?????????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ???????? + ????????. Both have won multiple awards??Visit our website to check those out: https://lnkd.in/gV2t5xVP THE LASTEST PROGRESS ?? I finally integrated our low fat “fat”. TBH, it looked so much like beef ?? fat when added to the burger that it shocked me a bit. It’s made with mushrooms and avocado oil…and will be our first product with added fat ?? The “fat” is solid at room temperature and melts during cooking just like beef fat ?? The burger now has a moist mouthfeel; which is a huge improvement cause it used to be quite dry ?? Using a new type of beet which has improved the color IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE ?? Having a few texture challenges; it’s either too firm + dry or too soft + wet…but I’m getting closer ?? Flavor - Unfortunately, the flavor still needs to be much stronger…that’s my next area of focus THE POWER OF CONSTRAINTS It hasn’t been easy, but I’m sticking to our core constraints: 1. Use functional mushrooms ?? and other whole super foods as star ingredients 2. Ensure every ingredient contributes positively to the product’s nutrition 3. Steer clear of the following whenever possible: top 12 allergens (including soy and gluten), protein isolates, seed oils, and starches 4. Use herbs and spices to enhance flavor instead of so called “natural flavors” for label transparency 5. Keep processing to a minimum by sticking to traditional food production methods; basic mechanical manipulation (e.g. mixing, chopping, and shredding), fermentation, etc. 6. No hydrogenated fats, chemically modified ingredients (methylcellulose, modified food starch, etc.), isolated / man made vitamins and minerals or GMOs EVER! MORE THAN A BURGER ?? The burger will become a foundation for a whole new range of food service products. Think ?? mushroom breakfast sausage, pork style grounds, and a whole lot more! —- Let me know???? if you enjoy seeing my progress updates….and I’ll keep ‘em coming. #Mushrooms #Burgers #SneakPeak #MushroomsOnlyMeatier? #MeatySatisfactionSuperfoodNutrition?

MushroomMeat? ?? as a Pizza Topping? ?? YUM! Thanks MSC Cruises and the HOLISTIC HOLIDAY AT SEA INC team for featuring The Mushroom Meat Co. products on your cruise this week! Holistic Holiday at Sea ?? is celebrating their twenty-year legacy of combining a passion for travel with the love of plant-based living and continued education. Guests explore the beautiful Caribbean Islands and dive deep into the benefits of vegan nutrition with world-renowned plant-based inspiring leaders and advocates on board the elegant, and brand new, MSC Seascape. We’re bummed we didn’t get to join them this year, but we’ll keep the photos and videos coming as more dishes surface. ?? #Mushrooms #WholeFoods #PlantBasedDiet #msccruises | Dan Gardner Kesha Stickland

The plant-based protein industry is at a crossroads. It’s no longer just about?offering an alternative, it’s about?enhancing functionality, nutrition, and processing efficiency?to match?consumer expectations. In?our latest Deep Dive on ingredients, we explore how?food-tech pioneers?are tackling the?fortification and functionality?challenge. From?processing innovations?to?clean-label strategies, here’s what industry leaders had to say: ???Sumit Pingle, VP at Alfa Laval: “The key to market success is either developing affordable alternatives close to what consumers know or creating a completely new experience—but success is represented by repeat sales.” ???Kesha Stickland, CEO of The Mushroom Meat Co.: “We’re not alternative protein; we’re alternative nutrition. Whole foods come with all their fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals intact—no need for fortification.” ???MJ Kinney, Founder of FareScience: “Fortification has always been the primary value driver for plant proteins—but achieving compliance with nutrient claims is a challenge.” ???Jari Karlsson, CEO of Happy Plant Protein: “The key is not to make plant proteins an alternative but to recognize that they are equally important and valuable sources of protein compared with animal-based sources.” ???Jaclyn Simons, Business Development Manager New Food at GEA Group: “Consumers are looking for products that not only taste good but also offer the same nutritional value as animal proteins. Improved solubility, texture, and stability play a key role in helping plant proteins replace animal-derived ingredients in everyday foods.” ???John Brameld, Professor at University of Nottingham: “Enhanced functional properties enable plant proteins to behave more like their animal-based counterparts, improving texture, stability, and sensory attributes in various food applications.” ???Christian Zacherl, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV “We recover proteins from a wide variety of plant raw materials. Depending on the property profile, we use plant proteins as structuring agents, emulsifiers, and stabilizers for the development of vegan and vegetarian foods.” ???Michael Shantz, Senior Category Manager at Griffith Foods: “Our focus on fortification is driven by our aspirations, which include helping consumers achieve better nutrition outcomes through nutrient-dense foods.” ?? Read the full deep dive in our latest edition of Protein Production Technology International: https://lnkd.in/e4A467pE What do you think is the biggest challenge for fortifying and enhancing plant proteins??Share your thoughts below! ?? #PlantBased #FoodTech #Fortification #ProteinInnovation #Sustainability #FutureofFood

Thank you Renew Venture Capital? and Kt McBratney for interviewing our Co-Founder / CEO, Kesha Stickland, and for giving her the opportunity to share her story, nerd out on mushrooms and share our purpose with the world! “Kesha breaks down the science behind mushrooms, their nutritional power, and why they outperform many meat alternatives in both health benefits and sustainability. Throughout the conversation, Kesha opens up about her leadership journey, her role as a visible role model, and how she embraces every learning as a powerful tool for innovation and growth. Listen in to hear how Kesha's dedication to health is driving impactful change in the food industry and what we put in the center of our plates.” ?? Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/ern4M52t #Mushrooms #Purpose #FounderStories #FoodInnovation #MushroomMeat? #MeatySatisfactionSuperfoodNutrition? | Dan Gardner

Read as our CEO, Kesha Stickland, explains The Mushroom Meat Co. approach to improving the taste and texture of meat alternatives without compromising the nutritional benefits people expect from mushrooms ?? + plants ?? “We believe this minimally processed, whole-food approach to creating meat analogs is the future of alt protein.” Thanks Protein Production Technology International and The Future of Protein Production for including us and for putting our MushroomMeat? burger ?? prototype on the cover (that’s it in its raw state); and on page 2, page 52 and page 54…along with our shredded beef alternative. The burger’s still a work in progress and we haven’t begun doing tastings yet, but we’ll definitely keep you posted! Click here to read the article: https://lnkd.in/gnxYU4jb #Mushrooms #Fermentation #WholeFoods #AlternativeProteins #Innovation #FoodProduction | Dan Gardner

?? CHECK OUT THE LATEST EDITION OF PROTEIN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - FEATURING OUR BURGER ?? PROTOTYPE! Thanks Protein Production Technology International for interviewing me and for writing about The Mushroom Meat Co.’s take on fortification (hint: we focus on whole foods rather than fortification). In the article I share our approach to improving the taste and texture of meat alternatives without compromising the nutritional benefits people expect from mushrooms ?? + plants ?? “To avoid her end products becoming ultra-processed foods (UPFs) Stickland follows a design approach she calls “Biomimicry 2.0”. Describing this method, she says: “I invented the approach, and we design all of our products using these principles. The first is selecting whole foods with desirable traits – such as striated texture, umami richness, and natural binding properties. The second principle is enhancing nature; combining traditional methods such as fermentation and mechanical manipulation (e.g. shredding, chopping, grinding) to refine food properties. Applying those techniques has enabled Stickland to develop a set of base ingredients that are now used to create a variety of beef and pork analogs.” “We believe this minimally processed, whole food approach to creating meat analogs is the future of alt protein.” —— It’s also super cool to see the new mushroom burger prototype I’m developing on the cover (that’s it in its raw state); and on page 2, page 52 and page 54…along with our shredded beef alternative. ?? ??WRT functionality, there’s a lot of people who didn’t think something like that could be done with functional mushrooms and whole plants, but that’s what they said about our pulled pork and beef tip alternatives before we made those a reality. The burger’s still a work in progress and we haven’t begun doing tastings yet, but I feel some pressure coming on. ?? Check out the latest edition here: https://lnkd.in/e7KEUxSG #fermentation #mushrooms #wholefoods #alternativeproteins | Dan Gardner Nick Bradley ???? Louise Davis

?? JOIN ME AT THE 2025 ????????????????????????-?????????????? ?????????????????????? ?????????????? ????????????! I’ll be taking part in a Fireside Chat discussion on February 24th (Focus Day) Fireside Chat: Meeting the Expectations of Commoditized Alternative Proteins Sustainably: ? How can strategic partnerships support infrastructure development? ? In the context of alternative proteins, what does a favorable carbon footprint mean, and what are useful comparisons to make? ? Aligning with partners and investors to understand their prioritization of sustainability goals in decision-making The event will take place next week from 2/24 to 2/26 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, CA. This year’s event features a who’s who of speakers in the fermentation, bioprocessing and alternative protein sectors all “unlocking fermentation’s potential to commercialize innovative ingredients and products”!

HAVE YOU HAD YOUR MUSHROOMS ?? TODAY!? These sweet chili “beef” tacos were prepared by Chef Nina Curtis of Plant’ish featuring The Mushroom Meat Co.’s Shredded Beef Alternative. ??Yum! Our MushroomMeat? is made with whole superfoods; mushrooms + hemp seeds!?? Check out Chef Nina on Instagram @botanicalchef —- We’re scaling up. Chefs, restauranteurs and food service operators, message us for samples, a private ?? tasting or to run a trial. #Mushrooms #WholeFoods #MeatySatisfactionSuperfoodNutrition? | Dan Gardner Kesha Stickland

This month I want to celebrate some of the incredible founders building a better future for all of us ?? In no particular order: - Samia Gore of Body Complete Rx - Dominick Thompson of Eat What Elephants Eat LLC - Anna Cobb of Rejuvenation - Wendy Ekua (W.E.) Da’Cruz + Dominique Da'Cruz of The Mushroom Angel Company - Jerell Obee of BTR Burger - Rianna Young of Happy Hounds CBD - Kareem Cook + Claude Tellis of Naturade - Chauniqua Major of Major's Project's Pop - Kesha Stickland of The Mushroom Meat Co. Learn more about them via the link in the bio! VEGPRENEUR

?? JOIN ME AT THE 2025 ????????????????????????-?????????????? ?????????????????????? ?????????????? ????????????! It’s that time again. As part of the faculty, I’ll be speaking about market whitespace strategy and customer-driven product development; applied to food products. The event will take place next month from 2/24 to 2/26 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, CA. This year’s event features a who’s who of speakers in the fermentation, bioprocessing and altetnative protein sectors all “unlocking fermentation’s potential to commercialize innovative ingredients and products”! Catch me at the times below: ?? Wednesday, February 26, 1:45 PM Roundtable Discussion: ?????????????????? ?????? ???????????????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ? Utilizing key techniques to identify untapped “white space” in the market ? Managing the tension between internal sustainability and economic goals with the customer priorities of nutrition, taste and cost ? Delving into key lessons learned from early market feedback ? Creating a common vocabulary to differentiate your products and drive mainstream adoption ??????????????: Kesha Stickland, CEO of The Mushroom Meat Co. ?? Wednesday, February 26, 2:15 ???????????????? ?????????????????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ???????????????? ?????????? & ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????????????? ???????????????????? ? Developing effective frameworks to gather consumer insights throughout the product development lifecycle and provide internal feedback ? Utilizing pre-market and in-market data to support continuous product development and innovation ? Factoring feedback into R&D to ensure changes are cost-effective while providing value to each customer segment ? Using The Theory of Constraints to manage the tension between consumer desires for simple ingredients with the functional requirements of delivering products with greate taste and texture ??????????????: Kesha Stickland, CEO of The Mushroom Meat Co. — Check out the speakers and download the full program here: https://lnkd.in/e3TZRY2r #Fermentation #Bioprocessing #Mushrooms #AlternativeProteins