Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium is a Leeds-based urban mushroom farm dedicated to sustainable food production and reconnecting people with where their food comes from that has received a total of £50,000 worth of funding to scale up and grow from the Business Enterprise Fund. Founded in 2021 by five friends passionate about growing food, the business began in a garage and has since expanded into a fully equipped growing facility. The business is now run by Niall Johnston and Ed Elcock.
Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium supplies fresh gourmet mushrooms to restaurants, greengrocers and cafés across West Yorkshire. Alongside business-to-business sales, it offers mushroom-growing kits for use at home, which are available via the Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium website, Etsy, and selected retailers. These are particularly popular during the Christmas period.
Committed to education and community engagement, Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium launched hands-on workshops and foraging experiences in 2024, which were run locally around Leeds. These sessions teach participants about wild mushrooms, and sustainable food systems, and include interactive tastings.
With Start Up Loans funding support from the Business Enterprise Fund, Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium has scaled up its production, and invested in an autoclave – a specialist piece of kit that produces sterile substrate to make starter culture, reducing Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium's overheads. The funding also enabled Niall and Ed to go full-time within the business, allowing them to dedicate time to supporting its overall growth.
With ambitious growth plans, Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium aims to reach maximum production capacity, expand its educational offerings, and explore broader food-growing projects—all while maintaining a strong focus on sustainability and local food networks.
Niall Johnston, co-founder and Managing Director of Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium, said: "The Start Up Loans we secured from Business Enterprise Fund have been super important in supporting YME's growth. Without it, we'd have struggled to buy our autoclave, which ultimately saves us money and allows us to develop part of our product in house, rather than having to buy this elsewhere. I'd encourage anyone thinking of setting up a business to reach out to Business Enterprise Fund and enquire about a Start Up Loan – it could be the start of an amazing adventure like it has been for us!"
Source: Lancashire Post