Year partnered with Savant: 2014
Sector: Agriculture
Application: Mushroom cultivation and extraction
Product: Mushroom extracts, growing equipment, training
Market Size: (Local) ZAR 300 million (Global) USD 6.86 billion
Differentiation: Industry leading Reishi mushroom cultivation and extraction
Investment Stage: Pre-Seed
Stage: Venture and Grow Locally
Founding Team: Craig Fourie
Mushroom Guru
Mushroom Guru is a commercial cultivator of Reishi medicinal mushrooms from which it produces its GanodermaGOLD, MG-LZ8 range of nutraceutical Reishi mushroom extract products. Mushroom Guru was founded by Graig Fourie, a previous mushroom enthusiast who turned his passion into a sustainable and now scalable business. Part of growing the business involves expanding current facilities and Mushroom Guru has secured funding and is in the process of installing its own extraction, drying and laboratory testing equipment specific to processing fungal material.
A rise in application of Reishi mushroom in healthcare products, dietary supplements, cosmetics & personal care products, as a result of growing health consciousness, is the key factors for Reishi mushroom market trends. Reishi products are sold all over the world and there has been a trend and substantial growth in the use of Reishi Mushroom in developing natural drugs to prevent and treat several immunological diseases over the last decade. Mushroom Guru continues to make great effort to contribute to the growth of the mushroom industry by also offering growing equipment and starter kits, mushroom grain spawn and growing materials and presenting training courses to small and medium size mushroom cultivators in South Africa.
Value Proposition
Mushroom Guru have been working over many years to refine its Reishi strain, improve its cultivation and extraction techniques and have commenced with the installation of a specialist fungal extraction facility at its facility in Strand, South Africa.
This extraction process will enhance the current two-phase extraction, which is already proven to be 600 times more active than the imported Reishi Mushroom powder, by adding a proprietary third phase of extraction. The equipment and refined extraction method will only be used on fungal matter and be established in-house, as it is currently being extracted using botanical extraction processes (plant processes instead of fungal processes) at an outside company.
These developments will ideally position MG to supply its market leading extract product to the local and global market and establish itself as a Global player in the market.
