Slowly is a mushroom farming start-up, bringing gourmet, locally grown mushrooms directly to customers through markets and small retailers. Its indoor farm carries out production in reusable containers and is striving to operate completely single-use-plastic-free, a rarity in the industry and a testament to its commitment to circularity and sustainability. The mushrooms are grown in sterilised, reusable tubs on a range of locally produced substrates such as wheat straw.
Evaluating the best packaging options for new products and reviewing operating procedures to optimise the company's effectiveness as it scales.
ARCS reviewed the production process to identify potential hotspots and opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiency as it scales. This will help the company to remain competitive as it continues to invest in new equipment and develop new products. The project is also looking at circular inputs of substrate to grow the mushrooms, like local sources of hardwood. Finally, the project supported Slowly to evaluate its packaging material choices, to create a product that’s design matches the needs of its user and the system.
• The feasibility study into the company’s process found it could reduce sterilisation times by 80% – tackling the biggest source of energy use!
• The project also looked into circular packaging options to support the launch of the new, Lions Mane Hot Chocolate in December 2024.
Slowly is looking to experiment with new substrates from the research which could reduce infection rates and increase the nutritional value of the mushrooms.
