Michael Fox | Pioneering plant-based innovation

Meet Michael Fox, a passionate entrepreneur on a mission to revolutionise the way we consume food. As Co-founder and CEO of Fable Food Co, Michael is dedicated to creating delicious, plant-based alternatives to meat using mushrooms. With a focus on sustainability, health, and ethical food production, Fable Food Co aims to reduce industrial animal agriculture and its impact on the environment.

Michael shares the inspiration behind Fable, the challenges of building a sustainable food business, and how his QUT experience shaped his entrepreneurial journey. Plus, he offers insights into the evolving plant-based industry and his vision for the future.

Can you tell us about Fable Food Co and what inspired you to start the business?

Fable’s mission is to help end industrial animal agriculture and mitigate its harmful impacts on the environment, consumer health, and animal welfare. We make delicious food from mushrooms to help people reduce their meat consumption. We're reimagining mushrooms by improving their texture and elevating their natural umami flavours and nutrients to become a succulent, culinary protein.

I was inspired to start the business because I wanted to develop a meat alternative that fit with my own healthy diet—using whole food, all-natural, minimally processed ingredients. Many people want to reduce their meat consumption for health, environmental and ethical reasons, but find it challenging because they love the taste and texture of meat. I wanted to find a way to make it easier for people to transition to plant-based food by giving them the delicious taste and texture of meat, but making it from plants and mushrooms.

When we started the business, we wanted to keep our ingredients simple, clean, and as minimally processed as possible. My Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Jim Fuller, is a fine dining chef turned chemical engineer and mycologist (mushroom scientist), so he is no stranger to the properties and chemical composition of mushrooms and the best way to cook and leverage them to bring out the flavours, aromas and textures that we want for our mushroom-based products. Because of the inherent qualities already within shiitake mushrooms, we maintain a short ingredient list and minimal processing while delivering the satisfying taste and texture of meat that people crave.

How did your QUT degree prepare you for your career, and are there specific skills or experiences from your degree that you find particularly valuable?

I completed a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at QUT while working full-time as a lawyer shortly after finishing my undergraduate studies. The course gave me some great practical legal skills which I’ve been able to carry through my career. It also helped me to become qualified as a Solicitor 9 months into my legal career rather than 2 years. I wasn’t enjoying being a lawyer but this allowed me to get the Solicitor qualification much faster, leave the legal profession and move into the business world earlier than I would have otherwise—which has been a path I’ve loved.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting Fable Food Co, and how did you overcome them?

There were so many! If I had to pick the biggest, it’d have to be the 'chicken and egg' problem of finding a manufacturer to work with to develop our product when we had no customers or volume, a customer to work with when we had no manufacturing, and investors to back us when we had neither.

Overcoming this required finding partners who shared our vision and were willing to take a risk with us. Fortunately, we found them and that worked! Thank you to our manufacturing partner, our first customer Marley Spoon, and investors Blackbird Ventures and Grok Ventures!

Are there any career highlights that particularly stand out to you? What makes them meaningful?

It’s a highlight for me every time I see our product for sale. Seeing our Pulled Shiitake Mushrooms on the menu at my favourite restaurant chains like Guzman y Gomez, Fishbowl, Zeus Street Greek, Sushi Izu and Fonda Mexican is a thrill every time. It’s also great to be able to order Fable through Marley Spoon to cook at home or buy it in Harris Farm and other great, local independent retailers.

I just moved to New York City as we expand into the US market. I joined our local co-op grocery store, the Park Slope Coop. It’s member-owned and has an incredible range of interesting products. Plus, it’s quirky and fun—you have to be a member to shop there and to be a member you have to work a shift in the store every 6 weeks! I shopped there for the first time last week with my wife Katrine (who runs marketing for Fable) and our two kids. While looking at the plant-based section we saw our Fable Pulled Shiitake Mushrooms on the shelf! We don’t even sell the retail version of our product in the US yet and I didn’t know any retailers were selling it to the public but there it was—the Park Slope Coop has our 1kg restaurant packs on the shelf! That was very fun to see.

What do you enjoy most about being a business owner, and what keeps you motivated?

I love the autonomy and the ability to set the vision and direction for my work. Specifically with Fable, I love being focused on a mission I’m deeply passionate about. All this makes it fun and exciting to wake up and work each day.

That said, being a business owner comes with its challenges. It can be difficult/impossible to switch off and it’s tough when things aren’t going well. The highs are high and the lows are low. However, I think I’d struggle to go back to having it any other way.

Fable Food Co was featured on Down to Earth with Zac Efron. Can you share a bit about how that collaboration came about, and the impact on your business?

The show is centred around Emmy-award-winning actor Zac Efron as he travels around the world with his co-host and wellness expert, Darin Olien, to explore healthy and sustainable ways to live and eat. They reached out to us as they wanted to visit Australia’s top innovators and explore regenerative agriculture and sustainable food businesses.

Our team had the pleasure of taking Zac, and the Down to Earth crew on a journey through the Australian pine forest to forage for mushrooms where they shared knowledge on the mystical world of fungi.

Fable ended up being featured in a 12-minute segment of the 40-minute episode, which was fantastic exposure for our brand to a global audience of millions of people. We have had great partnership and collaboration opportunities open up with restaurant partners and customers following the airing of the episode. The Executive Producers of the show have since invested in our business, which was an unexpected outcome, and all of this has contributed to helping us achieve our mission to help end industrial animal agriculture.

What key factors do you consider when making business decisions, especially in a rapidly changing industry like plant-based foods?

We bring all our business decisions back to the customer. Will this be something that the customer wants and will add value for them? If the answer is yes, it’s worth exploring, and if not then that idea should be parked.

Changing consumer habits around food requires a value proposition that delivers over and above for the customer in the two areas most important to them—taste/texture and price. If the food doesn’t taste incredible and isn’t available at a reasonable price, it’s only ever going to be a very niche product. The third element in our category is health. Mushrooms are an incredibly healthy food, shiitake mushrooms in particular, so we have a strong advantage here with that as our base ingredient.

What’s one piece of advice you would offer to aspiring business owners?

Ideally, work on a problem and product you’re personally passionate about and connected to. I didn’t do that for my first startup, Shoes of Prey, which allowed women to design their own shoes. I wasn’t that inspired by the fashion industry and I didn’t have a particular passion for women’s shoes. Fast forward to Fable: I’m deeply passionate about helping to end industrial animal agriculture in a way that’s healthy, sustainable and doesn’t require sacrifice from consumers. I also deeply love mushrooms, the fungi kingdom is incredible and understudied. It’s a very exciting space to be working in.

A fun one to finish off. What’s your favourite way to enjoy Fable’s products at home? Do you have a go-to recipe?

My favourite way to enjoy Fable at home is Mexican food! Nachos and tacos in particular.

If I’m not up for cooking, ordering a Pulled Shiitake Mushroom burrito from Guzman y Gomez is a fantastic way to eat our product. If I’m wanting to cook, our retail product is available in Harris Farm Markets and quality independent retailers. This taco recipe together with homemade chilli margaritas using homegrown limes and chillies is a favourite!

Michael Fox

QUT degree - Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (2004)

Have a question for Michael? Connect with him on LinkedIn.