The fun-gi country business
Two management consultants have exchanged the corporate world for a country life dedicated to sharing the joy of mushrooms.
Jude Horrill first spotted their dream block while lying in bed, drinking coffee. The online ad showed natives, fruit, nut, and olive trees, ponds, and views to the Tararua Ranges. “It was absolutely gorgeous,” says Brent. “The people who owned this property before us bought it when they were 75. He was 91 when he sold it, and they spent all that time planting trees. Jude and I feel honoured to carry on their legacy and to build something special on this unique property.”
The couple sells oyster and shiitake mushrooms at several farmers' markets around the lower North Island. It's just over an hour's drive to the four markets where they sell direct to customers most weeks.
It's a significant change from their old lives. Jude was a professional cellist, and Brent worked in publishing. They eventually began working together in business management consulting in Melbourne. When they came back to NZ, they continued the same work.
But each night, Jude would come home looking miserable.
“Our vision was to be semi off-grid, to live sustainably,” says Brent. “And at some point, I got the idea of a business growing mushrooms. I was having a conversation with a friend about the incredible nature of fungi, and it got me thinking, does anyone grow them in NZ? I did a bit of research and saw that we could and that there weren't really a lot of people doing it. In terms of a market, it was really uncontested.”
The original plan was to sell wholesale to supermarkets and the hospitality industry, but that changed when they started selling at their local farmers' market.