Our Story
After nearly three decades working internationally in corporate consulting and digital architecture, Brent and Jude returned to New Zealand to build something very different…
A Journey from Corporate Systems to Fungal Systems
Mycobio began with an unlikely transition. After three decades working internationally, Brent and Jude returned to New Zealand in 2018 to build something very different: a small mushroom farm exploring regenerative agriculture and the remarkable biology of fungi.
Their previous careers involved helping large organisations navigate complexity. Brent worked as a digital architect with scientific publisher Reed Elsevier, while their consulting practice focused on teaching executive teams how to operate with agility and systems thinking.
Unexpectedly, it was mushrooms that provided the perfect next chapter. Fungi are nature’s ultimate systems engineers, quietly breaking down waste, cycling nutrients and supporting entire ecosystems beneath the soil. Discovering fungi felt like learning a new operating system.
Meet the team
Together we traded global corporate careers for the soil of Ōhau, blending our backgrounds in science, strategy, and the culinary arts to set a new regenerative standard for New Zealand mycology.
Starting With a Simple Experiment (2018)
Old habits from the corporate world proved useful.
When Brent and Jude decided to build a mushroom business, they approached it the same way they had helped large organisations develop products: start small, iterate quickly, and learn directly from real customers.
The goal was simple: selling mushrooms at a local farmers market within three months.
By the end of the first year they were producing around 50 kg of mushrooms per week, confirming strong demand for fresh, locally grown specialty mushrooms
Finding a Farm in Ōhau (2019)
In 2019 they found the property that would become Ōhau Gourmet Mushrooms, located just south of Levin in the Horowhenua region of New Zealand. From the beginning the farm was designed to be small, experimental and low-impact.
Rather than industrial-scale agriculture, the focus was on:
• small batch growing
• regenerative farming principles
• minimal inputs and waste
Over time the farm has also become home to a growing cast of characters including ducks, chickens, sheep and even a Kune Kune pig. All part of a broader effort to build a living regenerative ecosystem.
Building an Ultra Low-Tech Mushroom Farm (2019-2023)
Ōhau Gourmet Mushrooms operates very differently from large mushroom operations.
Rather than relying on heavily industrialised systems, the farm focuses on simple, controlled growing environments that minimise energy use while still producing high-quality mushrooms.
The farm focuses on growing oyster mushrooms and other specialty varieties using simple but carefully controlled methods.
Production systems were designed around sustainability from the beginning.
One example is the use of waste pine from New Zealand forestry as the primary growing substrate, turning what would otherwise be waste into food.
These methods make mushroom production:
- extremely water efficient
- pesticide free
- space efficient
- low energy
Mushrooms are uniquely suited to this kind of circular agriculture.
From Mushrooms to Functional Food (2023)
OGM brand created
The OGM! brand was created to explore functional foods built around mushrooms, including fermented products and other specialty foods
Products recognised
Several of these products quickly gained national recognition, winning awards for both innovation and sustainability.
A deeper curiosity
These early successes reinforced a simple idea: Mushrooms are far more than just ingredients. They are a gateway to a deeper understanding of food, health and ecosystems.
Years of cultivating mushrooms also sparked a deeper curiosity about their biology and medicinal compounds. That curiosity eventually led to the creation of the Mycobio brand.
From Farm to Mycobio (2025)
While the farm focuses on fresh mushrooms and food products, Mycobio grew out of a parallel interest in functional and medicinal mushrooms.
Over time Brent’s background in scientific publishing and research systems naturally led to deeper exploration of mushroom compounds, extraction and traditional medicinal use.
Mycobio was created to bring together:
- years of hands-on mushroom cultivation
- research into medicinal fungi and their bioactive compounds
- carefully sourced fruiting-body mushroom extracts
- one of New Zealand’s most comprehensive mushroom education resources
The goal is not simply to sell products. It is to help people understand mushrooms better.
Recognition and Community
The farm’s work has attracted attention both locally and nationally.
Ōhau Gourmet Mushrooms has been recognised for sustainability and innovation, including winning the Electra Business & Innovation Award for environmental sustainability.
The farm was also featured on the iconic New Zealand television programme Hyundai Country Calendar, which has documented the country’s food producers for more than fifty years.
But the most meaningful recognition comes from the community itself.
Most of the farm’s fresh produce is sold directly to customers at farmers’ markets across the lower North Island.
Our Vision
Mycobio and Ōhau Gourmet Mushrooms exist to explore what fungi can teach us about food, health, and sustainability.
What began as growing mushrooms from forestry by-products has grown into a broader exploration of fungi — from fresh food and circular farming systems to the medicinal compounds these remarkable organisms produce.
Everything we do connects back to a simple idea: fungi are one of nature’s most powerful biological systems. The more we understand them, the more possibilities they reveal.
Our work continues to evolve as we learn — on the farm, through research, and through the communities that engage with what we grow and share.
Where the story is still being written
Learn about our farm in Ōhau. It is where everything began, and where it continues to evolve. See how we grow, what we've built, and the principles we work by every day.