Mella: The Smart Mushroom Fruiting Chamber

Made for those mad about mushrooms, Mella is a countertop appliance that automates the inputs necessary to grow delicious, edible mushrooms in the comfort of your home.

Mella enables the ability to control lights, fresh air exchange and humidity to provide the best environment for growing gourmet mushrooms. This process makes growing and harvesting much simpler, and the conditions can be altered by moving the different dials located on the chamber. 

To launch Mella, the FirstBuild team built an ecosystem of mushroom enthusiasts, mycology experts and sales partners that has included professional mushroom cultivators, FirstBuild community members, and companies respected in the gourmet mushroom space. 

Part of FirstBuild’s mission is to co-create with community. The team started by sharing Mella on YouTube at its earliest stages, then sold its first (and at the time, only) prototype to Tony Shields, a mushroom enthusiast and CEO of FreshCap Mushrooms.

Thanks to the fungi community, Mella was funded in under 90 minutes and raised over $550,000 on Indiegogo! 

“We’re thrilled that the community of mushroom enthusiasts continues to show their support for Mella. Now, we’re gearing up FirstBuild’s microfactory  for manufacturing.”

Chris Naber, FirstBuild’s Director of Product Development