Biotechnology Start-up Infinite Roots: Developing food from fungal mycelium

For Mazen Rizk, food is about far more than nutrition. It is about memories, culture, and community. With his startup Infinite Roots, he combines cutting-edge biotechnology with a bold vision: developing foods that can nourish people around the world—based on fungal roots. It all began at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH).

Mazen Rizk is sitting at the long dining table in Infinite Roots’ test kitchen in Hamburg’s Barmbek-Süd district. This is where recipes are developed, where partners and potential investors gather to cook and eat together—naturally, always with mycelium-based ingredients. Felipe Andres Troncoso Castro, Infinite Roots’ Culinary Head Chef, is tidying up and wiping down surfaces before the interview begins. Looking around the kitchen—with its grey tiles, light wooden tabletops, stylish metal pendant lamps, and warm lighting—and at the photographs of the sophisticated dishes Castro creates from mycelium products, biotechnology is the last thing that comes to mind. Instead, one thinks of enjoyment. Of the pleasure of food.

The first two sentences visitors encounter on the Infinite Roots website read: “We don’t want an expensive niche product. We want to change the world.” A conversation with Mazen Rizk quickly reveals that this is more than a catchy slogan. The man clearly has a mission.

Rizk was born and raised in Lebanon. He came to Hamburg to pursue his doctorate at TUHH. “I had my farewell party in Lebanon in August 2010,” he recalls. “It was incredibly hot. Everyone was sweating.” One day later, he landed in Hamburg. It was also August—but only 19 degrees Celsius. He bought a scarf and a hat because he was freezing. “Today”, he reassures, “I can feel summer even when it’s 19 degrees.”

At TUHH’s Institute of Technical Microbiology, Rizk spent four years researching extremophiles—microorganisms capable of surviving under extreme environmental conditions. “I wanted to work on something that had real industrial potential.” He experimented with heat-loving bacteria and explored ways to use them to break down cellulose from wood into glucose, a form of sugar. The glucose could then be fermented into bioethanol, a renewable fuel. “What excited me was conducting research in the laboratory while constantly thinking about industrial applications.” According to Rizk, his years at TUHH fundamentally changed the way he thinks. “The question became: How can I turn biotechnology into something industrially relevant instead of pursuing research for its own sake?” That is precisely what he does every day now at Infinite Roots.

After completing his doctorate, Rizk briefly worked for a food company before deciding, in 2018, to start his own company—also in the food industry. But whatever he created had to be sustainable, efficient, resource-saving, and capable of delivering results quickly. For Mazen Rizk, one thing had always been clear: food is a matter of the heart. He believes that we eat not only with our eyes, but also with our memories, traditions, and emotions. “People don’t want to eat bacteria,” he says. “And they’re not quite ready to eat insects either.” If he wanted to create new foods, they had to make sense to consumers on both an intellectual and an emotional level. “Science is one thing. The other question is: How do you reach people emotionally and culturally?” That line of thinking led him to fungi.

“Everyone knows mushrooms. Everyone has cooked with them, everyone has eaten them. Germans, in particular, are huge mushroom fans.” But Rizk did not stop at the mushroom itself. He became fascinated by mycelium—the fungal root network—which he describes as a true wonder material. Mycelium grows at remarkable speed and requires very few resources. This was something he wanted to explore, but: “I quickly realized that I needed a laboratory.” And so he returned to TUHH—this time as both a researcher and a paying customer.

“They were kind enough to let us work in their laboratory,” he says. “Of course, my old connections helped. But TUHH generally has a culture of supporting entrepreneurship. It was the perfect symbiosis.” It was from a TUHH laboratory that Rizk founded his startup Mushlabs, which later became Infinite Roots.

So how does it actually work? How do Rizk and his team produce the magic mycelium that the Culinary Head Chef turns into tasty food? First, it helps to understand that fungi differ fundamentally from plants. They do not thrive on sunlight and water alone. Genetically speaking, they are actually closer to animals than to plants. Fungi grow on nutrients that they essentially consume. When we say a mushroom is growing, the first thing that grows is the mycelium—the root-like network beneath the surface. “And it literally grows on basically anything,” Rizk says enthusiastically. At Infinite Roots, mycelium cells are cultivated in large stainless-steel tanks and fed with fruit residues, sugar cane by-products, or used coffee grounds. Through enzyme-driven biochemical processes, the mycelium converts these nutrients into biomass. What the mycelium is fed influences its flavour profile. “That means we can already shape the taste at this stage,” says Rizk. The team experiments with a wide variety of edible fungi, including porcini mushrooms, button mushrooms, enoki, portobello, and shiitake. Within just a few days, the mycelium is ready to harvest.

The pale biomass that emerges from this process is packed with nutrients. Unlike many plant-based proteins, mycelium generally contains a complete amino acid profile, making it comparable to animal protein. It also provides prebiotic fibres, dietary fibre, and antioxidants. Rizk describes its flavour as “umami,” the Japanese term for a rich, savoury taste. The resulting ingredient can be transformed into almost anything people associate with protein-rich foods. For Western consumers, it can become sausages, burger patties, or meatballs. For Middle Eastern cuisine, it can be shaped into small, flavourful spiced balls. For Asian dishes, it can be prepared as sliced strips for curries and stir-fries. “At Infinite Roots, we’re also developing dairy alternatives based on fungi,” Rizk says enthusiastically. “We even can do desserts!”

Consumers in industrialised countries are increasingly interested in alternatives to animal-based products—for health reasons, animal welfare concerns, and environmental considerations. But what possibilities could a protein-rich food, that needs little more than fermentation tanks to be produced, open up in regions where people face hunger? In places where drought has rendered farmland unusable, where conflict disrupts agriculture, or where seeds and resources are scarce? Those are the possibilities Rizk has in mind when he places the bold statement on his company’s website: “We want to change the world.”

Since January, consumers have been able to buy the first Infinite Roots products in around 500 REWE supermarkets across northern Germany and at BILLA stores in Austria. The “MushRoots” range currently includes mince, burgers, and meatballs, available either plain or Mediterranean-style. However, these first products are not made from mycelium itself but from the fruiting bodies of mushrooms. “We simply wanted to put food on the table,” Rizk explains. Commercial mycelium products are still some time away, and the team felt waiting would take too long. Rizk: “We want to start a dialogue with consumers now.” The “MushRoots” products are intended as a door opener—a first step towards people’s hearts.