A 20,000 mile North and South American cycling journey gave entrepreneur Jo Davies the time to think of a new career.
At the time she was a project manager in the tech industry in Boston Massachusetts and left that job behind coming home to Edinburgh to set up Canny Mushrooms.
The advice for Jo in her new business came through TRIVE an expert-led programme delivered by SAC Consulting with the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation (SCFDI) based at Queen Margaret University. The course supports students setting up businesses in food and drink and rural sectors.
Jo said: “I’d actually been thinking about the Canny Mushrooms idea for a while before I set off, and they would have been the perfect adventure food for my camp suppers.
“But the trip itself was the real impetus for me to commit. Cycling solo for so many months gave me plenty of time to think, and all the inspiring characters I met along the way really gave me the drive to go for it on my return.
“I’m at the start of my journey, but I hope there is another great adventure ahead.”
Jo spent almost two years on the road.
She said: “From Boston I headed to Vancouver in Canada, before turning left and hugging the coast down to Mexico, through Central and South America, before finally finishing in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“I’ve long been obsessed with tinned fish, they are very nutritious, and also a great adventure food. Why not do something similar with mushrooms? They’re fantastically sustainable, nutritious, infinitely varied, and delicious.
“The THRIVE programme covered a great breadth of topics and provided me with so much of the information I needed to start a new food business, without any prior experience in the food industry.
“Mushrooms are nature’s recyclers. They are very sustainable; they don’t use much water or land and can of course be grown in this country. By canning the product, I’m also using the most recyclable packaging format and ensuring a long shelf life and reducing food waste.
“With Canny Mushrooms I wanted to create something new and unique, a product that is not only super convenient and sustainable but also full of flavour and fun to eat. A long way from button mushrooms in brine from the supermarket.”
Jo’s achievement was made possible by connections she established via THRIVE – particularly manufacturing sessions, which led her to the unique facilities at The Food Incubator.
Working with The Food Incubator team, she was able to refine her recipe for processing and develop a validated thermal process that kept the delicious, handcrafted flavour while ensuring the product was safe, shelf-stable, and commercially viable.
Mark Naylor from The Food Incubator said: “What’s really rewarding is seeing producers like Jo gain the confidence to navigate the technical side of food manufacturing.
“For us, it’s about making the whole journey feel achievable and giving businesses the tools to grow with confidence.”
With trademark approval in place, two months of sales at local markets under her belt, Jo is now bringing her vision to life, and her bicycle is still playing a vital role.
She said: “I’m pleased to say I’ll still be pedalling away. I recently got a trailer for my bicycle and will be using it to transport my cans of mushrooms to and from markets as well as local stockists.
“I had a fantastic experience on the THRIVE programme and thoroughly recommend it to other aspiring food and drink entrepreneurs at any stage of the start-up journey.
Canny Mushrooms are available at Leith and Stockbridge markets.
Sign up here for THRIVE Fundamentals and THRIVE+.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
Like this:
Like Loading…
Related