CRAFT COLLABORATIONMagic Mushrooms 
Seedlip’s founder Ben Branson considers the miracle of myceliumMushrooms might not be Ben Branson’s favourite food (he says he’s tried to force himself to enjoy eating them on numerous occasions but failed every time) but they are top of the list when it comes to his innovative new packaging. The founder of the non-alcoholic drinks company, Seedlip, describes the company he launched in 2015 as a ‘nature company that makes drinks for when you are not consuming alcohol’. Which is why their autumn gift set, including a bottle of Seedlip Spice 94, a 100% recycled glass highball to serve it in, and a neck tag made from paper impregnated with thyme seeds, comes packaged in a miracle material made out of the roots of mushrooms.

Seedlip’s botanical drinks business has done pretty well despite the pandemic, with people consciously looking for an alternative to alcohol at home and more recently, while out at bars or restaurants. Filling the need of what Branson describes as ‘a sophisticated non-alcoholic drink that treats me like a grown up and not like a child’ was, ‘ a win-win.’ So the gift box will be welcome for many as an alternative to giving a present in the form of a bottle of fancy gin or whisky – sometimes not the best idea for a self-isolating friend or relative. It is a collaboration with the Magical Mushroom Company, which specialises not in hallucinogenic trips, but in making biodegradable, compostable packaging out of the roots of the mushroom, known as mycelium. The root structure creates a durable, lightweight packaging material that can be used in much the same was as its ecologically nightmarish distantcousin, polystyrene.

‘I take immense pleasure in the thought of someone excitedly throwing this packaging away,’ laughs Branson from his home in north Lincolnshire, when we speak on Zoom one afternoon in September. ‘I might get into trouble for this, but I kind of envision someone just throwing it in a park! I do love the fact that it leaves no trace. It’s going to biodegrade in 45 days. No trace.’
Branson was introduced to the idea of mushrooms as a material by his friend, the designer Sebastian Cox, whose mycelium lamp shades were part of the recent Mushrooms exhibition at Somerset House. The show, curated by Francesca Gavin, presented mushrooms as the answer to so many of the challenges facing the world, from medicine and biotechnology to pollution and waste. ‘The mushroom is both an inspiration and a practical source of change,’ she wrote in the show notes, adding a question posed by theorist Anna Tsing, author of The Mushroom at the End of the World, ‘What do you do when your world starts to fall apart?’ Her answer? ‘I go for a walk, and if I’m really lucky, I find mushrooms.’

For Branson, whose family have been farmers for more than 300 years, and who has ‘the countryside running through my veins’, protecting the land and the soil are part and parcel of how he cultivates the herbs he uses for his drinks. So packaging that will leave no trace is a no brainer. ‘Mycelium is hydrophobic which is a fancy way of saying it repels water and it’s fire retardant, lightweight and incredibly durable. The guys at the Magical Mushroom Company have been incredible and helped make this reality. It is a miracle material...you can make shoes with it, furniture, scaffolding, the list goes on. Mushrooms are prolific around the world; the root structure takes eight days to grow. Cardboard takes, what, eight years to grow a tree to make cardboard?’

While Branson does not claim to be operating the greenest company ever, he is determined to reduce his impact where he can. ‘There is a climate emergency and that’s an important consideration when there is so much about the natural world that’s wonderful and provides us with so much. There’s nothing like a necessity breeding invention.’ he says. ‘Mushrooms need to become incredibly famous.’ 

The Seedlip Mushroom Based Packaging Gift Set, £40, is available at seedlipdrinks.com; @seedlipdrinks; @magicalmshroom

WORDS TAMSIN BLANCHARD | PHOTOGRAPH JACK WILSON