70 jobs as MYCO moves to former food site in Leeming Bar

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January 5, 2024January 5, 2024Anna Startin

MYCO Holdings aims to transform a former food manufacturing plant in Leeming Bar into a vertically farmed production unit – the first site of its kind in the UK. MYCO is expecting that moving into the purpose-built 20,000sqft site 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.”

The move follows months of work with Judith Turner of North Yorkshire Council to secure the unit, which given its proximity to the A1, will further aid sustainability by reducing food miles. To cope with the expected influx of demand, the six staff initially based at the new site will need to swell to around 75 over the forthcoming period.

According to the firm’s new CEO David Wood, the new unit helps future-proof the business while allowing the business to expand on multiple fronts.

David said “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 that creating mouthwatering 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, whilst for the first time ever in the UK, giving customers the chance to choose genuinely sustainable, vertically farmed products. We hope our unique, sustainable approach can be mirrored by other food producers as ultimately, our biggest priority is to help the planet survive – we just hope we can play our part.”