MycoWorks begins production at South Carolina facility

In South Carolina, MycoWorks has begun production at its world-class manufacturing facility in Union, S.C. Now capable of scaling-up to meet luxury industry demand, the company is set to grow millions of square feet of its leather-alternative material produced with the company’s proprietary technology, Fine Mycelium™. This patented technology produces Reishi™, a biomaterial with unparalleled hand-feel, strength and durability – on par with calfskin leather, the industry gold standard. 

With partners including Hermès and General Motors, MycoWorks’ progression into commercial-scale manufacturing is a sign of maturation for the biomaterials industry that the company continues its leadership in materials science. Per MycoWorks’ market sizing, there are serious challenges facing the $164 billion leather market and $28 billion luxury leather market such as supply chain constraints and inferior product alternatives. Since 2010, demand for luxury leather increased 251 percent, while high-end hide production declined by 22 percent due to falling beef and dairy consumption. MycoWorks, and its hallmark material Reishi™, are answering these challenges with the world’s first full-scale alternative leather factory, a revolution in the production of high-quality natural materials for the luxury industry.

The opening of the 136,000 sq. ft. factory also marks the world’s largest mycelium material operation, a major step for the use of mycelium– the “root structure” of mushrooms. Starting first with leather, MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium™ technology can later be expanded into other applications. The plant was made possible through a $125 million Series C funding round in 2021 from Prime Movers Lab, SK Networks, Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact & Innovation Fund, DCVC Bio, Novo Holdings and several strategic customers and investors. With construction beginning in 2022, the project was delivered on-time and on-budget, running the same tray-based mycelium growth system successfully piloted in its California plant yet scaled to 100x the volume.