The British company for biodegradable packaging that chose Bulgaria

Magical Mushroom Company, a British company specializing in the production of biodegradable packaging from mushroom mycelium, has opened a factory in Sofia. The plant is located on “Botevgradsko Shosse" Boulevard and since the end of 2023 it has been working with clients from Poland and Hungary. The company's goal is to have one branch in each country of the Balkans.  

The Economic.bg team visited the factory in Bulgaria and met with Bozhidar Stoyanov, manager of Magical Mushroom Company for the country.

The packaging produced in Bulgaria is mainly for companies in the technology sector that have decided to reduce plastic in their products, replacing it with biodegradable materials.

It all starts with the raw material, which is a mixture of live mushroom mycelium and a secondary agricultural product – in this case, the woody part of the hemp plant. The British manufacturer supplies raw materials from the Netherlands, however, there are preparations for the opening of its own raw material factory, which will be on the territory of the United Kingdom.

What’s behind the production process?

After the raw material has arrived in Bulgaria, it is stored in cold rooms at a temperature between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. The production process starts from the so-called mixers, which mix the materials before pouring the resulting substance into appropriate moulds. Next comes baking and cooling. The entire packaging production cycle lasts about seven days, and their decomposition in nature takes 45 days.

The capacity of the factory in Bulgaria is about 1 million packages per year.

The process is not fully automated and there is quite a bit of manual work involved. At the moment, 5 people work in this factory, and the goal is to increase them to 12 people by the end of the year", explains Bozhidar Stoyanov.

At the moment, the company has no Bulgarian clients, but negotiations are underway with local companies in the field of electronics.

We are still developing the market in the Balkans. The process itself is slow. We mainly work with clients who sell electronics, perfumes, alcohol, insulation, protectors. Wherever polystyrene can be used, this packaging can also be used," explains Stoyanov.

Choosing Bulgaria

Magical Mushroom Company officially launched its operations in the UK in 2020, and in a very short period of time it turned from a startup to a scaleup. It also aims to become a market leader in biodegradable packaging.

As part of its growth, in 2021, the British company chose Bulgaria as the first country in the Balkans to open a factory. And so far, the size of this investment has come to about half a million euros.

It turns out Magical Mushroom Company chose Bulgaria over Ukraine.

As far as I know, in the final, so to speak, there were only Bulgaria and Ukraine," says Bozhidar Stoyanov.

Among the main reasons for the British company to choose Bulgaria is the country's membership in the European Union, which opens the door to the single market, as well as its cheaper labor costs.

Production in Bulgaria officially started at the end of 2023.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov