Exotic Mushroom Center - largest reseller in Poland

Last year, the market for exotic mushrooms in Europe grew by a few percent, reports the sales manager of the Exotic Mushroom Center, the largest Polish company producing / delivering shiitake mushrooms.

The company is based in Poland, near Głogów in the western part of the country, and produces / delivers 3.5 to 4 tons of shiitake mushrooms weekly. Production is carried out on substrates that are delivered frozen in containers. In addition to its own production, the company successfully sells the substrate to small and large shiitake producers in Poland and across Europe.

The Exotic Mushroom Center benefits from extensive support through international expertise, which enables the company to produce shiitake and other exotic mushrooms to the highest standards.

This support not only improves the quality of their own production but also allows them to assist partners in optimizing their production processes. Initially, there were concerns in Poland that the company might dominate the market.

However, a different picture has emerged: Polish producers are benefiting from the opportunity to purchase high-quality substrate at a good value and receive support when needed. This collaboration has led to an increasing number of small producers in Poland growing shiitake mushrooms, contributing to the country’s growing production of this mushroom.

The Exotic Mushroom Center offers three options for cooperation: it can sell ready-made mushrooms, deliver containers of substrate directly and provide technical support, or sell substrate from its on-site warehouse. The third option allows smaller producers to purchase immediately available substrate while also receiving technological support.

In Poland, besides the Exotic Mushroom Center, there are three large shiitake producers, each producing about half or a third of the market leader's volume. Moreover, more and more small producers are emerging, recognizing the profitability of shiitake production.

Poland currently produces nearly 10 tons of shiitake mushrooms per week, with the majority of production being exported due to still low domestic consumption. Most of the shiitake sold in Poland is destined for the food service industry, especially Asian restaurants, where demand for these mushrooms is increasing.

Interestingly, some renowned restaurants in Poland deliberately choose the high-quality shiitake mushrooms from the Exotic Mushroom Center, even though they are more expensive. This demonstrates that the demand for quality products is growing, even though shiitake is still considered expensive in Polish retail.

Overall, a significant portion of the shiitake mushrooms produced in Poland is exported to Western Europe, where the demand for exotic mushrooms and organic-certified products is rising. The Exotic Mushroom Center supplies countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, and occasionally Germany and France.

The company also plans to establish a larger production facility in Spain to better serve the European market. The markets in Spain, England, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are particularly strong, as the demand for shiitake mushrooms is high. In these countries, there is not only a greater willingness to pay for quality but also a growing demand for organic-certified products.

The Exotic Mushroom Center will soon be able to offer organic-certified shiitake mushrooms and substrates to meet the growing demand in Western Europe. This development highlights Poland's emergence as a significant location for the production and export of shiitake mushrooms, offering substantial potential for the future.