Chapter 15 Blanc de Gris, an Urban Mushroom Farm: Lessons from the Emergence of a Circular Business Model

Blanc de Gris (BDG) is producing oyster mushrooms from organic waste (coffee grounds and spent grains) in Downtown Montreal. This project brought the two co-founders of this circular enterprise into a challenging journey. Based on an ethnographic account of BDG, including observations, interviews, and a four-month internship into the business, this chapter highlights the difficulties of creating an industrial symbiosis. From gaining legitimacy among their peers and bankers to facing operational problems, this chapter outlines the network’s resilience behind this story. This chapter ends by discussing the case in regard to the challenges related to the emergence of circular business models, identified by a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).