From Dorm Room to Mushroom Farm: Alex's Story

Olds College grad Alex Villeneuve shares his story of founding Ceres Solutions in Alberta.

What started as an experiment in an Olds College dorm room closet is now a multi-million dollar business. Former student Alex Villeneuve started his company, Ceres Solutions, when he developed a way to use wasted brewery and agricultural by-products to grow gourmet mushrooms while attending Olds College.

Alex was starting the Brewmaster’s program around six years ago and realized he could grow gourmet mushrooms using the spent grains left over after brewing beer that were previously just thrown away. Alex also came up with a plan to recycle the growing substrate as a feed product to sell to cattle ranchers, since the mushroom growing process leaves the grains higher in protein. Alex experimented with growing the mushrooms in his dorm room closet in the very beginning, and after the College found out what he was doing, the Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) and the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) provided him with warehouse space, equipment, access to a laboratory, and helped him get set up with grants and a business plan to help him get going.

Developing Mycopro^™

The TACLP provided professional services and resources for Ceres to develop innovative solutions for the livestock industry. Ceres developed a modular system that uses locally available biomass as a substrate to grow gourmet mushrooms. As the mushroom roots grow through their biomass substrate, they break down complex fibers and convert them into protein. This growth increases the digestibility and protein content of the spent mushroom substrate, potentially making it a valuable livestock feed which Ceres Solutions calls Mycopro^™.

In order to prove the safety and nutritional value of Mycopro^™, Ceres worked with Olds College’s TACLP in 2018 to conduct Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) requested tests and research on the product. The TACLP conducted a sheep rumen in-vitro fermentation trial of the product and provided a comprehensive report of the results. This report was valuable to Ceres in understanding the digestibility and fermentation characteristics of the product. The report and results were included in the product’s official CFIA application for approval as a novel viable microbial feed product. These tests continue to be beneficial to Ceres through the attraction of private investment and a TRL that would not have been possible without the TACLP’s support.

Growing beyond the incubator

Ceres Solutions leased pilot laboratory facilities from the TACLP for development and production purposes. With a pilot farm at the TACLP, Ceres had access to novel equipment, extensive livestock research acumen, and accommodating facilities which created an innovative environment to further develop and validate products and technologies. Ceres Solutions outgrew the incubator space available at TACLP due to its substantial growth, and Alex secured funding and investment to construct a dedicated full-scale commercial facility in Crossfield, Alberta, with plans to produce 4,000 pounds of mushrooms, which he sells to Alberta restaurants, and 12,000 pounds of enhanced cattle feed every week. As a part of Emissions Reduction Alberta Food, Farming and Forestry Challenge, Ceres Solutions received $500,000 of funding which it was able to use to leverage $1 million of private funding — for a project total of $1.5 million.

Alex on building the business

“Traditionally, spent grains used in the production of beer have been looked upon as a waste by-product. My research and work has been focused on finding ways to efficiently use this waste in the production of new food products. In addition to helping me to establish my processes and giving me insight into the scientific side of things, partnering with OCCI has given me the opportunity to learn about how to start up and operate this business. The support of Olds College has been crucial to getting the company off the ground.”