Dozens of jobs on the menu as plant-based food firm opens ‘UK first’ site

Almost 70 jobs will be created after a plant-based food manufacturer moved into a new product development site, in North Yorkshire.

MYCO Holdings will transform a former food manufacturing plant in Leeming Bar into a vertically farmed production unit. It will be the first site of its kind in the UK.

The North East-based firm says it hopes the move into the purpose-built 20,000 sq ft facility will launch an exciting period of growth, amid an expected boom in sales of plant-based meat substitutes.

John Shepherd, co-founder and chairman of MYCO, said: “This is a great move for MYCO, and one we all believe will help the business unlock its extraordinary potential.

“This new site is a food industry first, and the concept of combining both the growing of the raw materials and the manufacturing of the finished product under one roof will pave the way for more sustainable food manufacturing practices in the future.”

MYCO’s own plant-based protein is made from oyster mushrooms and has attracted interest from household names across the food industry.

The company’s management team took over the Leeming Bar site in November. Since then, the site has been cleared in preparation for production to ramp up in the New Year.

The move follows months of work with Judith Turner of North Yorkshire Council to secure the unit.

In order to cope with an expected influx of demand, the six staff initially based at the unit will need to swell to around 75.

David Wood, the company’s new CEO, said the facility will help future-proof the business while allowing it to expand on multiple fronts.

He added: “MYCO’s goal isn’t to turn the world into vegans but is to encourage meat-eaters to eat more sustainable plant-based products.

“We believe we can achieve this by having products that taste fantastic and are made with kitchen cupboard ingredients.

“The business believes creating mouth-watering alternatives that resemble ‘proper’ food will make swapping from meat to plant-based substitutes far easier.

“This site will allow us to press on with that vision, while for the first time ever in the UK, giving customers the chance to choose genuinely sustainable, vertically farmed products.”