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Biofabrication startups: the materials they make and how close each is to market
A guide to five biofabrication startups, the materials they make, their commercial stage, testing and what buyers should confirm before ordering.
What to take away
- Five names carry the cluster: Bolt Threads (Mylo), MycoWorks (Reishi), VitroLabs (cultured collagen), Zoa (engineered collagen) and Spiber (Brewed Protein).
- MycoWorks and Spiber sit closest to repeatable production. Bolt Threads no longer ships Mylo. VitroLabs and Zoa still work at sample scale.
- Pilot lines put out kilograms per month. Sampling runs near four weeks, production yardage three to six months. Those are typical ranges, not published figures.
- Budget bands sit in the low tens of dollars per square foot for mycelium sheet, with cultured collagen above that.
Companies, materials and how close each one is to scale
For a buyer the cluster splits three ways. MycoWorks and Spiber can take an order. Bolt Threads cannot supply Mylo. VitroLabs and Zoa send samples and discuss a future run.
| Company | Material | Stage today | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt Threads | Mylo mycelium sheet | Output stopped after accessory runs | Last shipped volume |
| MycoWorks | Reishi mycelium sheet | Commercial plant output | Rated plant capacity |
| Spiber | Brewed Protein fiber | Limited commercial drops | Fermentation capacity |
| VitroLabs | Cultured collagen leather | Pilot; luxury sampling | Culture scale |
| Zoa | Engineered collagen protein | Development and sampling | Batch data |
Bolt Threads sits in Emeryville. It fermented yeast protein into Microsilk, then grew Mylo from fungal root structure and sold it into small leather goods rather than bulk apparel.
MycoWorks began in San Francisco and moved Reishi production to South Carolina, where trays replaced the original pilot setup. Tray growth holds thickness inside a tighter range for footwear and upholstery. Reishi is a grown mycelium structure, described at Mycelium - Wikipedia.
Spiber ferments plant sugars into a structural protein and spins it into fiber. Its commercial releases have been small and tied to named collections.
VitroLabs grows collagen in cell culture and targets luxury accessories, where small yardage covers early unit costs. Zoa engineers collagen and other proteins for brands testing a first line.
This comparison of biofabricated materials compared by what each one is grown for sets protein, sheet and cellulose families side by side.
What commercial scale looks like in numbers
Biofabrication covers processes that use living cells, enzymes or engineered organisms to build the material itself, as Biofabrication - Wikipedia sets out.
Labels stay loose, so treat them as ranges and ask for the figure behind each claim, in kilograms or square meters.
- Pilotkilograms per month, sample yardage only, methods still moving.
- Pre-commerciallimited production yardage, sampling near four weeks, production often three to six months.
- Commercialconsistent rolls, published specifications, a price you can put into a costing sheet.
Funding disclosure is patchy. Rounds in this sector have typically run in the tens of millions of dollars when announced, so check state corporate filings.
Booking timelines matter as much as chemistry. The slot a supplier can hold decides whether the material reaches a line at all.
A sample order should follow the checks in this biofabricated materials checklist, which covers lot comparison and questions a pitch deck skips.
Preferred and bio-based fiber volumes are tracked annually in the Preferred Fiber and Materials Market Report, where grown materials remain a rounding error against polyester.
Named products behind Mylo, Reishi and Brewed Protein
Mylo reached buyers through a 2021 partnership group. Adidas, Stella McCartney, Kering and Lululemon put the sheet into bags and small goods.
Reishi went into a luxury handbag from Hermes, a small release that tested the sheet against conventional leather. MycoWorks has since pointed to footwear and automotive interiors as larger outlets.
Brewed Protein has appeared in limited outdoor and sportswear collections, capped by fermentation capacity rather than brand demand. Ask which product, which season and how many units before treating any of these as proven.
All three names are trademarks with approval rules for hangtag copy, so build review time into your calendar. This guide to how FTC Green Guides apply to bio-based fiber claims shows where marketing language tends to overreach.
Testing, certification and end of life
Labs run tensile, tear, abrasion and colorfastness tests, and leather-like sheets also face flex and cold-crack checks. ASTM Committee D13 on Textiles maintains most of those methods, so ask which D13 method a supplier cites.
Chemical screening runs through OEKO-TEX Standard 100. A bio-based content figure can be verified through the USDA BioPreferred Program.
Compostability belongs to the finished article, not the fiber. Coatings, adhesives and trims decide whether a shoe passes an industrial compost specification such as ASTM D6400.
End of life also decides resale value. A material that cannot be repaired or separated from its backing loses value on the secondhand market, and resale is where much of a garment's return sits.
California is tightening textile rules, and this summary of California and New York textile EPR rules covers what extended producer responsibility changes for bio-based design.
Example: a 5,000 pair mycelium upper
- Order 20 to 50 square meters of sample yardage from three different production days.
- Run ASTM D13 abrasion and flex tests, plus OEKO-TEX restricted substance screening.
- Confirm the bio-based content figure through USDA BioPreferred before writing hangtag copy.
- Price the run on a written band, with a lead time clause and a rejection threshold.
- Hold the bulk order until a second lot matches the first on color and thickness.
The sequence costs a season and prevents a recall, a false claim or dead stock.
