Nature's Humble Superfood

KARUNA RAWAL is interviewed by AAVNI KUPPUSAMY after they met at the SXSW Food Tank event in Austin Texas earlier this year. Karuna speaks about how her company, Nature's Fynd, is pioneering ways to make high protein, high fiber foods from fungi. They offer sustainable agricultural practices without destroying the planet and without the high price tag.

- KARUNA RAWAL

Q: Hi Karuna, welcome. Could you tell us a little bit about the incredible origin story of Nature’s Fynd?

Nature’s Fynd was actually started as a research project for NASA. At the time, our chief science officer was a graduate student at Montana State, and was doing some work for NASA to help them understand what kind of conditions would be needed for life to thrive in harsh environments, like outside of Earth. That quest actually took them to Yellowstone National Park, which has a very unique ecosystem. There is a super volcano, and in the volcanic geysers they discovered a microscopic fungi—not a plant, not an animal, but part of the third kingdom—that turned out to be pretty remarkable. It was 50% protein, 30% fiber, with vitamins and minerals. Most importantly, it was thriving in this very harsh environment using very few resources.

That actually led them to do more research. And the company invented a technology called “liquid air interface fermentation,” which allows us to grow the protein. We took a tiny sample from Yellowstone, and we have never had to go back. Using that sample, like a sourdough starter, we were able to create net new protein for the world. We grow the protein here in Chicago, and we do it using trays and fermentation. Every three to four days, we’re able to make new protein, and we’ve created both meatless and dairy free foods. We have three different product categories we’ve launched in Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, and some other regional retailers.

We took a tiny sample, and grew it from there, so it’s highly sustainable; we use 90% less land, and 90 to 95% less water. Fungi, in general, take very little energy to grow—they only emit about 6% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to animal agriculture, we’re using a fraction of the resources.

Q: Can you explain some of the nutritional benefits of fungal protein and their nutritional landscape?