Oakland-Based Back to the Roots' Organic Mushroom Farm
OAKLAND, CA - AndNowUKnow is always looking for innovative companies in the fresh produce industry. One company that can definitely be categorized as innovative is Oakland-based Back to the Roots.
Known for their grow-at-home Organic Mushroom Farm and Water Garden, the Back to the Roots crew garnered a lot of attention at last year’s PMA Fresh Summit with their “Have you Met the Mushroom Men” t-shirts, and have been on our radars ever since. They have even been named one of Forbes' 25 Most Innovative Brands.
The company’s Organic Mushroom Farm allows you to grow Pearl Oyster mushrooms at home right out of the box in 10 days by just sprinkling water on them. Celebrities from Martha Stewart and the cast of ABC’s The Chew to Oprah have all endorsed the mushroom kits.
“Such a fun product — I love how it's connecting families to their food again,” Martha Stewart has said of the Mushroom Farm kits.
The catalyst for the company came from a Graduate class professor that Founders Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez shared. Inspired by hearing you can grow mushrooms from used coffee grounds, the guys began experimenting in Alejandro’s Fraternity kitchen of all places.
“We eventually decided to give up our corporate job offers to instead become full-time mushroom farmers,” said Founders Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez on their company’s website. “We're on a mission to make food personal again and inspire families to ask, ‘where does my food come from?’”
What started as curiosity about urban farming has turned into a passion for “undoing food” for Back to the Roots. By reconnecting families to their “roots” through fun, delicious, and sustainable “ready to grow” and “ready to eat” products, food loses its mystery and regains its joy.
With a company as young and innovative as Back to the Roots, we can’t wait to see what they think of next.
