Simon Hazell, founder of the collapsed insect protein company Inseco, has re-emerged as the CEO of functional mushroom producer Bioshroom. His shift marks a decisive move away from capital-intensive agritech toward a more sustainable, higher-margin sector. The transition reflects a grounded return rather than a dramatic comeback, shaped by the lessons of a costly failure.
A New Venture in a Pristine Environment
Bioshroom is positioning itself as a premium producer of pure, responsibly cultivated medicinal mushrooms from its base in the Kogelberg UNESCO biosphere. The company emphasizes product integrity by using only fruiting bodies and providing independent certificates of analysis with every batch. This approach directly responds to widespread quality inconsistencies and supply chain opacity in the global mushroom supplement market.
Under the leadership of Hazell and COO Volant Will, Bioshroom is undergoing major facility upgrades aimed at ensuring production stability and regulatory alignment. The company is targeting January 2026 for its first commercial batches and is actively pursuing FSSC22000, Global GAP, and Organic certifications. These credentials will support its ambitions to supply international markets in Europe, the UK, and the United States.
Lessons from a High-Profile Failure
Hazell’s new chapter comes after the collapse of Inseco, which shut down in October 2024 despite raising a landmark $5.3 million seed round. The company set out to disrupt the animal feed sector by converting organic waste into protein using black soldier fly larvae. Its closure has become a cautionary example of how fragile hardware-heavy biotech ventures can be in unstable operating environments.
Hazell attributed the failure to a convergence of challenges, particularly South Africa’s severe loadshedding crisis. Repeated four-hour power outages devastated insect breeding cycles and pushed electricity costs to nearly four times their previous levels. The resulting operational chaos eroded production reliability and ultimately damaged investor confidence beyond recovery.
Beyond external pressures, Hazell openly acknowledged several internal missteps, including expanding too quickly and making poor hiring decisions. He described the delayed purchase of a backup generator as an avoidable and costly oversight that exacerbated the energy-related disruptions. These experiences underscored for him the importance of operational discipline, timing, and pragmatic decision-making.
A Strategic Pivot to a Sustainable Market
Hazell’s move to Bioshroom represents a deliberate pivot toward a sector with stronger margins and fewer operational dependencies. The functional mushroom industry commands significantly higher price points per kilogram, making it far more financially manageable for a lean startup. The shift also aligns with rising global demand for medicinal fungi, with the United States seeing a surge in sales over recent years.
Bioshroom’s product strategy includes the development of pure mycelium extracts through liquid fermentation, enabling the company to expand beyond standard fruiting-body supplements. Unlike Inseco’s rapid scale-up, Hazell emphasizes that Bioshroom will remain small, focused, and operationally tight until its processes and market position mature. This restrained approach reflects lessons learned from attempting to scale too quickly in a high-risk market.
Simon Hazell’s leadership at Bioshroom highlights a pragmatic reinvention shaped by hard-earned insights rather than a dramatic return. By prioritizing quality control, operational resilience, and a sector with healthier economics, the company is structured to avoid many of the pitfalls that doomed Inseco. Bioshroom’s progress will serve as a meaningful indicator of how lean, hardware-light biotech ventures can navigate South Africa’s complex operating landscape.