Mamu

Every year, 3.4 million tons of spent grain (brewers' byproduct) are generated and disposed. As these grains continue to hold value post-brewing process, our team aims to collect and repurpose this waste as a raw material to produce fresh mushrooms. The global demand for mushrooms is expected to reach 20.84 Million tons by 2026 as more consumers opt for healthier and plant-based diets.Currently, mushrooms are produced from wood or straw, however natural resources and manpower (mushroom picking personnel) are limited. Thus, our team aims to target three main aspects of the agrifood industry: 1) the efficient collection of an industrial, organic waste, 2) a sustainable and community-based supply chain for a nutritious food, and 3) the cost-effective scale and quality assurance of our solution through the integration of AI and IOT sensors for automation and centralized monitoring of decentralized operations.

In Belgium there are 260 breweries (excluding brewing companies) that produce 20 million hL of beer per year. 90% of breweries donate / sell their byproduct (“spent grain”) to farmers or dispose them as organic waste to landfills. According to the FDA in the US, those donated to farms carry a risk of infection due to the moisture of the grain, however more hygienic regulations were met with heavy backlash from breweries that do not have the resources to process this grain into proper animal feed. In addition, according to Life Brewery, for every ton of spent grain that is processed in landfills, 513 kg of greenhouse gases is emitted to the environment. 

This grain contains 50% fibers and 20% protein thus much research has already shown that it can be effectively reprocessed. Due to the moisture content of the grain post-brewing, mushrooms, as a fungi, grow easily. The demand for mushrooms has increased steadily as they prove to be a vital source of vitamins and antioxidants, with some mushrooms being recognized as a natural alternative for those struggling with diabetes, focus, and cholesterol however local production has decreased due to a lack of available harvesting personnel.

Mamu is an ag-tech circular economy production system that reduces industrial waste by collecting the "spent grain" by-product from breweries to repurpose this as a raw material to sustainably produce fresh, exotic mushrooms. Our system is based on optimizing resources to provide value to two industries (breweries and mushrooms). For breweries, our aim is to be able to design a system that can scale efficiently to be able to collect as much spent grain as possible. Down the line, we plan to explore diversifying outputs of this spent grain (flour, compost, animal feed, fertilizer, etc.). For our B2B clients (farmers markets, supermarkets and fresh produce sellers), our goal is to consistently provide high quality, exotic mushrooms by establishing urban operations (to decrease the transportation time between harvest and sale) and by integrating technology (to utilize data and sensors to automate and control operations). Finally, we are not only supporting our partner businesses but also commit to being a zero-waste business ourselves as we explore recyclable packaging, a dried mushrooms line (for those unsold), and animal feed from the substrate that the mushrooms are grown on.

Following the Sustainable Development Goals, our focus is on goals number 12: ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns and goal number 2 (2.4: ensure sustainable food production systems). We have collected 120kg of spent grain from local breweries to learn about the challenges and costs with disposing spent grain. In addition, we hope to help local EU states meet the demand for sufficient supply of a commodity and nutritious food product for society without extracting more resources from the environment. Currently, mushroom producers rely on wood and straw to produce mushrooms. Both of which are limited natural resources, dependent on environmental conditions that have changed drastically in recent years. Through our interviews with local distributors in Spain, we found that they have been importing and selling produce from Asia. In Belgium, the number of local producers has decreased due to shortage of harvest labourers - a problem that we hope to minimize through the integration of technology. Thus, through recreating a controlled environment, we would be able to provide this product year round. We have received a grant to speak with 100 stakeholders over the next few months to cater our solution to their needs.

1. Increase food supply while reducing waste: We are producing mushrooms from  a byproduct that is disposed of as waste to landfills, thereby indirectly reducing greenhouse emissions. We are also working with experts to design our system as zero-waste.

2. Build a resilient supply chain: we work with local breweries and clients to ensure that we would be able to continue operations amidst trade restrictions

3. New business model: Our business model is based on connecting breweries and mushroom distributors (two industries that exist around the world). We plan to scale by establishing operations within different cities and using technology for decentralized monitoring.

Since mushrooms are a commodity product, our main competitors are industrial producers. Our competitive advantage, however, would be location as we plan to establish urban operations while such companies are usually located outside of cities to maximize the low cost of land. As a result of the transportation and packaging, however, exotic mushrooms from these companies often arrive to their point of sale bruised. With regards to our technique, there are two companies that operate a similar business model. One is called CERES Solutions and they are based in Canada. After four years of studying the process, they have begun expanding around Canada. They served as our technical consultant and their success has inspired us to bring this innovation to a new geography with notable adjustments to local circumstances. Another company we found is Le Champignon de Bruxelles. We differentiate ourselves not necessarily with our product but with our approach to our supply chain (using AI and IOT to automize the process; ensure zero waste of our operations by turning the substrate into animal feed and exploring compost and fertilizer). Other companies such as Permafungi and Haagsezwam use coffee grounds as a raw material, as opposed to spent grain.

To efficiently and consistently reprocess spent grain into quality mushrooms, the key is to create and maintain optimal growing conditions, year-round. Based on our conversations with both producers and consumers around Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg, the seasonal output of mushrooms (like other fresh produce) has been volatile due to the changing climate and our limited natural resources. 

With AI and IOT sensors, imaging technology, and AWS, we will be able to recreate and monitor the natural growing conditions (temperature, humidity and CO2 levels) of each of our facilities from a single location, 24/7. We’re exploring the various tools that can support this system including the Raspberry Pi, SH10 temperature and humidity sensor, and cameras with AWS IoT.  This will also allow us to gather data, scale efficiently, and continuously improve the process to be able to share efficient cultivation and harvesting practices with other growers.

There is one mushroom producer that has integrated this technology into their business - Monaghan Mushrooms. “Every 3 seconds, a computer assesses the humidity, temperature, and CO2 levels of the room,” all of which can be accessed at any time through a mobile dashboard. (Nadiya Hussein, “Time to Eat,” Interview, Netflix). 

Additionally, Smallhold, a company based in New York, is using a technology that provides automated, modular, remotely-managed, and subscription-based growing systems placed in restaurants and supermarkets.

And finally, Yanmar is a Japanese company that is using IoT, Data Analytics and AWS to predict the behavior of their tomatoes and predict the yield. With 12 cameras per greenhouse they are able to analyze size, color, number of leaves, number of flowers, and fruits. They compare their results to the growth stage they are supposed to be in and they act accordingly and immediately, adjusting hydroponic application patterns and frequency, in addition to moisture and temperature.

Application of this technology was also researched in-depth by a University in Malaysia: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319601529_Environmental_Monitoring_and_Controlling_System_for_Mushroom_Farm_with_Online_Interface

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 3.4 Million tonnes of spent grain are generated yearly within the European Union. Common practice today is for breweries to donate / sell this spent grain to farmers or to dispose them as organic waste to landfills. According to the FDA in the US, those donated to farms carry a risk of infection due to the moisture of the grain. According to Life Brewery, for every ton of spent grain that is processed in landfills, 513 kg of greenhouse gases is emitted to the environment. As these grains continue to hold value post-brewing process, our team will set up a facility where the spent grain can effectively be collected and repurposed as a raw material to produce mushrooms. The global demand for mushrooms is expected to reach 20.84 Million tons by 2026 and production is threatened by extreme climates and lack of harvesting personnel. By using todays AI and IOT technologies, we can recreate, maintain, and monitor the natural growing conditions of mushrooms in an indoor environment (steel containers or unused spaces). 

By collecting the spent grain, breweries not only manage their disposal but also build an ecosystem between them and fresh vegetable producers to enhance their brand. By producing exotic mushrooms locally and year-round, mushroom distributors can reduce their reliance on imports and provide a fresher product to their consumers. And finally, by using spent grain, end consumers can enjoy a unique taste as a result of our use of spent grain. 

In the long-term, our goal is to reduce overall organic waste that is contributing carbon emissions, to find a sustainable means of increasing food production to feed 9 billion people by 2050, and to increase the freshness and decrease the carbon footprint of food by being located closer to our market, thereby reducing transport, packaging, and pesticides.

In Belgium, our first market, 27 million kg of mushrooms were produced for local consumption. We are building a facility that can produce 12,000 kg of mushrooms per year (less than 0.1% of current demand). 

Estimating that consumers purchase 0.5kg of mushrooms per month, we would serve 2,000 people monthly with an organic and nutritious product that has been made without extracting natural resources. 

To produce 12,000 kg of mushrooms, we would collect 120,000 kg of spent grain, working with 2 to 5 breweries per month. 

Small-sized breweries donate their spent grain to farmers after brewing. However, US and European regulators worry about contamination. Through our process, we would be able to provide our byproduct as a more sterilized animal feed. Thus, for 120,000 kg of spent grain collected, we can potentially support approximately 3 farmers for feed for approximately 3 cows per month.

After our first year, our next step is to build a facility that produces 100,000 kg per year thus, we would be multiplying these numbers by 8 - serving 16,000 consumers per month and 40 breweries. By year 5, we plan to have 10 of these facilities, thus reaching 160,000 consumers (0.1% of global demand),400 breweries, and 240 farmers per month.  Finally, spent grain that is not donated to farms generates 513kg of greenhouse gas emissions when processed in landfills, thus we would also have a more indirect impact on society.

Our goals over the next year are 1) to test and refine our operational process to reach maximum efficiency in the production of 1 ton of oyster mushrooms per month, 2) to establish partnerships with local breweries to collect their spent grain, and 3) to have initial sales of our product. Over the next 5 years, our goals are to produce 100 tonnes per year, scale this ecosystem to 10 urban locations, become a fully zero-waste business by looking for partners that can use our CO2 (vertical farms) and mushroom byproduct (e.g. funguschain), and develop and share knowledge and expertise on circular business models.

Our main challenge is the high customer acquisition cost of selling a commodity food product, B2B (entailing a traditional approach of door-to-door sales).  Through a risk assessment exercise, we identified and classified 25 risks and the control methods that could reduce the likelihood and impact of these risks. 

Our operational risks include managing contamination, producing the mushrooms consistently, facility breakdowns, and injuries of personnel. 

Our financial risks include an economic recession, drop in the prices of mushrooms, and the increase in prices of raw material and operational expenses. 

Our market risk includes new players entering our market with the same business model and our legal risks include changes to the regulations of collecting spent grain or of producing mushrooms.

We are reducing our customer acquisition costs by focusing on different kinds of wholesalers and distributors located within the same area. This will allow us to get a higher return from travel costs related to the distribution of our product. In addition, we have also found partners who are willing to take larger quantities of mushrooms from us and distribute them to farther areas. Finally, we are optimizing our digital strategy (integrating analytics and email marketing) to reach chefs, food associations, and end users. 

To mitigate the operational risk of not being able to produce mushrooms of consistent quantity and quality, we plan on integrating prototypes of the technology we hope to develop (AI and IoT) on the onset to gather the information and data to improve our outputs. We have also worked with CERES Solutions who provided technical guidance and are actively speaking with AWS, Hexagro, and other experts in the field of agri-tech. 

To mitigate the risk of volatility in the industry, Mamu will diversify its revenue sources (microgreens, workshops, tours, dried mushrooms, medicinal mushrooms, other mushroom food related products and animal feed). 

To address risks related to personnel, all employees will be briefed on the risks related to each task and a guideline to carry out these tasks safely. They will also receive adequate protective equipment and training.

Mamu is currently being run by its 4-cofounders with external guidance from a number of mentors. 

Antoine (CEO, Luxembourg) is a civil and environmental engineer with 4 years experience in construction and logistics management. He has pioneered the technical process and successfully produced a Minimum Viable Product. He is currently leading the development of the company's strategy, the market landscape, and our company's triple bottomline.

Vincent (CIO, Panama) is a financial analyst with 8 years of experience with international organizations. Vince has been identifying best market practices, and opportunities to improve the efficiency of the technical process. He has also driven sales and marketing initiaves by building relationships with clients. With his background in agriculture, he is currently focused on ensuring that the team meets the requirements for food safety & hygiene.

Margarita's (COO, Margarita) background is in international relations with 4 years of exerience in project management of corporate social responsibility projects, training and development. She has been organizing the internal operations of the team (integrating agile and lean startup methodologies). With her experience in public-private partnerships, she has also been managing external relations initiatives (pitching at competitions, building and managing the company websites, and reaching out to mentors).

Alexander (CFO, Costa Rica) is a senior financial anlyst with six years of experience in business modeling with a multinational firm. He has designed a 5-year financial model taking into account various scenarios, risks, and sources of funding. He has udpated the model to reflect uncertainties and changes, guiding the team with targets and pricing strategies. He has also been leading our current fundraising intiatives.

We have just completed the EIT Food Seedbed Programme. In addition to training and financial support, EIT Food is actively supporting our customer discovery process by providing us contacts, mentorship, and marketing. We have also onboarded a general advisor who is a founder of Hexagro, an urban farming solution. 

Our business model seeks to support breweries, farmers, mushroom distributors, & consumers. 

For breweries, we offer a diversified means of disposing of their spent grain while also providing an opportunity to connect with other local businesses & to differentiate their brand by supporting a sustainable initiative.

For farmers and regulators, we offer improved animal feed (which we will make from the substrate that the mushrooms are grown as part of our zero-waste goal). Currently, spent grain is donated to farmers right after brewing and as a result, risks carrying mycotoxins that would be harmful for both animal and human consumption. 

For mushroom distributors, we offer a seasonal product that would be available year-round and with preserved freshness as a result of our indoor, urban operations. With our technology, we also aspire to provide transparency to our clients with real-time monitoring of the grow cycle (to know when and how many mushrooms would be available).  

For consumers, we offer organic mushrooms with a nuttier taste (as a result of using the spent grain), sold locally without wasteful packaging.

We have confirmed the interest of breweries to give us their spent grain, the viability of the technical process on a small scale as well as the demand for our product. One of the reasons we are applying for Solve MIT is because our next and crucial step is to increase our production to formally establish partnerships with breweries and mushroom distributors. In the face of operational and market risks related to scale, we highly value the advice, training and feedback from peers, mentors and experts across various industries. We have been working with mentors from different industries since we started working on this idea during our MBA program and as a result, have been able to continuously learn and improve our business model. 

In addition, we would like to maximize the opportunity for exposure and additional funding. Finally, we are also hoping to explore both formal and informal partnerships with researchers, nutritionists, circular economy advocates, and food engineers to discover other opportunities to diversify our product line, differentiate ourselves from new entrants, and potentially explore new business models.

We would like to find a board member or advisor with a vast amount of experience in the Food, Mycology or Circular Economy industries that can help us broaden both our current operations as well as our long-term vision for how we can create the most significant positive impact on society. 

In addition, we are seeking partners who would like to raise funds and develop the technologies to address low-carbon food production, food loss, and limited natural resources. 

Finally, we seek partners in marketing, media and exposure to help us promote our values of sustainability, organic and local produce, and more efficient and circular supply chains. 

We identified the following as potential partners:

Patrick J McGovern: With their advances in technology like Big Data and AI, we hope to seek their support as we develop our own technology. 

Mondi Group: We would like to partner and design a sustainable packaging solution that would still preserve the freshness of our mushrooms. 

Technical University of Denmark: They are doing studies in the mycology industry, discovering how antioxidants in mushrooms may relieve discomforts during pregnancy and they have proven that psilocybin, a potential drug for treating depression and other psychological conditions, can be produced from the yeast from mushrooms.