Berlin is knorke: Sustainable nutrition by means of mushroom cultivation
Berlin, 30 June 2025: As is well known, (good) taste is a matter of debate. However, the majority of visitors to Anuga, the world’s largest and most relevant trade fair for the nutrition and food industry, were in agreement when they visited the fair last year: The mushroom gyros made from a lab-cultivated thread fungus was impressive in terms of flavour. The Berlin-based company Nosh.bio is behind the meat-free alternative to the extremely popular meat dish. Founded in February 2022 by Tim Fronzek and Dr. Felipe Lino, Nosh.bio specialises in developing sustainable and affordable nutrition. The basis for this is a fermented mushroom, which is also used in Japanese cuisine.
The focus of the team around the founders of Nosh.bio is on developing foods that not only make a meatless diet possible, but also more attractive. In its offices in the Adlershof Technology Park, the company cultivates a special filamentous fungus that has been authorised as a foodstuff by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The mushroom is characterised by particularly long fibres, which are similar in texture to muscle tissue and are therefore easy to process into mushroom gyros, for example. In addition, it can be used as a thickener and binding agent or even as an egg substitute. In contrast to many other foods, the filamentous fungus hardly requires any resources - after all, it is grown in the laboratory to save space. By avoiding the use of arable or pasture land, considerable amounts of water and CO2 emissions can be saved during production. Nosh.bio produces several tonnes per week in Adlershof and has already secured partnerships with industrial customers such as the Italian company Barilla.
The idea to found Nosh.bio was born in 2021 when entrepreneur Tim Fronzek and microbiologist D. Felipe Lino met. They quickly realised that they not only shared the urgent desire to do something about climate change. Their entrepreneurial and scientific expertise complemented each other so well that starting a business seemed like the next logical step. The Nosh.bio team now consists of 15 employees. The natural biomass fermentation process they use and the associated technology do not require any binding agents or synthetic additives. Instead, the ingredients produced for food production are high in fibre and protein and are not genetically modified. The concept of sustainability runs through the entire corporate philosophy of Nosh.bio. Measures for greater energy efficiency, waste reduction and the sustainable procurement of resources are based on global sustainability initiatives and are part of the company’s own “revolution”: This is because Nosh.bio has set itself the goal of making the food industry better. A project that is as necessary as it is visionary and is currently focussed on sustainable success.