July/August 2019 - 34

Q + A MIRA WEIGENSBERG
2
SEVEN
Q+A WITH MIRA WEIGENSBERG
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After 30 yeas of growing and harvesting exotic mushrooms in Israel,
Mira Weigensberg is finally achieving her long-term goal: using the
goodness and health benefits of mushrooms to
create flavor-enhancing products and new snacks.
Weigensberg, CEO and co-founder of The Mushroom
Benefit, recently debuted her company's new MSGfree
Umami Crunchy Snacks and Cuisine Bags at
the Fancy Food Show in New York. They soon will be
available for worldwide distribution.
1
What is your background?
" My life partner, Oren Kessler, is vice
president of R&D. We have been in the
exotic mushroom world for over 30 years. My
academic training was in immunology, where I
learned about the potential health benefits of
mushrooms - particularly exotic mushrooms -
as immune system boosters and for promoting
cardiovascular health. That initial recognition,
together with our love of mushrooms as food,
kicked off our life's work.
"
3
5
What was the inspiration for the
Cuisine Bags?
" Preparing a sophisticated and healthy meal
requires effort, knowledge and time spent pre-planning,
cutting, soaking, filtering, spicing and preparing a stock.
That's too time-consuming for many. Our cuisine bags
contain a unique blend of specialty mushrooms, such as
shiitake and black truffle, as well as natural seasoning
and flavors. A single sachet can prepare a liquid stock
in 10 to 15 minutes, or it may be inserted directly into
a pot or saucepan containing the raw ingredients. We
were inspired by the plant-based products trend and
decided to offer a plant-based, clean-label alternative to
traditional powdered soup stocks.
"
When will you
distribute outside
Israel?
" We anticipate production
and distribution by year's end
and are considering entry into
our domestic market in
the fourth quarter.
"
34 JULY/AUGUS T 2 019
6
2
When did you get serious about these new
products?
" Our goal was to provide new and innovative products
that would leverage the goodness of exotic mushrooms
and bring it to mainstream consumers. The idea was to
replace MSG with real umami taste and flavor of exotic
mushrooms and make them more accessible to consumers
with busy lifestyles. About four years ago, we decided to
take the plunge. ... We assembled a first-class internal team
and collaborated with Tal Leizer, CEO of Practical Innovations,
and launched our quest for all-natural products to track and
reinvent market trends.
"
4
What are some of the highlights the
process?
" It was important for us to keep the
goodness of the mushroom and use only real,
simple ingredients. Another important factor was the
intensity of the umami flavor, which makes the use
of salt and MSG unnecessary. This led to a broad
survey of the specialty mushroom world until we
settled on shiitake and black truffles as the basis
of the Cuisine Bag. Replacing synthetic ingredients
with natural ones was also a major challenge, and
we spent a lot of time experimenting with various
forms of natural ingredients until we arrived at
the optimal formulations.
"
What is the biggest
challenge for produce
processors
" The biggest challenge is delivering the
produce as quickly as possible to the
consumer, thereby reducing the need for
intervention along the way to maintain
the integrity of the supply chain.
"
7
What is your
favorite mushroom?
" I love them all, but if I
must choose, I'd say my favorite
is the shiitake mushroom with
its rich and delicious umami
flavor and abundant minerals
and beta glucans.
"
July/August 2019

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