Loop Biotech’s Mushroom Caskets and Pet Urns Take Root in Deathcare

For a few months this summer, millions of people from across the United States were reading about the burial of Maine resident Mark C. Ancker. It wasn’t because Ancker’s funeral was over-the-top or attracted thousands of mourners; his was, in fact, a lovely and thoughtful low-key, private ceremony. No, what made Ancker’s burial newsworthy was his status as the first person in North America to be buried in a mushroom casket — the brainchild of Bob Hendrikx, founder of Loop Biotech.

Since its June 2025 U.S. launch, Netherlands-based Loop Biotech’s Loop Living Cocoon™ mushroom casket has grown from an eco-curiosity into a certified, functional option for green burial and cremation — and its potential positive impact on the environment has reached well beyond the deathcare community. The global press has noticed. 

It’s about TIME

Last month, TIME Magazine named the Loop Living Cocoon™ one of its Best Inventions, describing it as “an all-natural casket that actively enriches nature, even after we’re gone.” The magazine noted that more than 2,500 burials worldwide using Loop’s mushroom-hemp caskets since launch.

This recognition, along with Loop’s partnerships and growing North American presence, helps counter earlier skepticism about mushroom-based burial options.

“Sometimes people say, ‘The mushroom suit didn’t work, so this doesn’t work either,’” Hendrikx admits. “That’s a pity, because it’s a totally different thing. Our product just dissolves into nature — we focus on the enrichment of the local soil. That’s the most important trait for us.”

At just 31, Hendrikx balances innovation and family life (he and his wife recently welcomed a baby boy) while redefining what a casket can mean in the 21st century. Loop Biotech’s products don’t just decompose — they compose life anew.

For funeral professionals, the company’s success underscores a growing shift: families increasingly seek products that heal the planet as they honor their loved ones.

“Our goal,” Hendrikx says simply, “is to make sure that when you leave this world, you leave it a little bit better.”

Touch and feel

Attendees of the 2025 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) International Convention & Expo had the opportunity not only to meet Hendrikx and his team, but also to get up-close and personal with the unexpectedly-touchable Loop Living Cocoon.

“We grow an exterior mushroom skin,” Hendrikx explains. “It sounds a little bit technical, but basically, it feels — it is — pure mushroom. It’s super soft, almost like velvet.”

That “velvet” softness has surprised many funeral directors and families who’ve handled the Loop Living Cocoon, the company’s biodegradable coffin grown from mycelium — the root structure of mushrooms — and hemp fibers. 

It’s the same material that composes Loop Biotech’s newest deathcare product, Loop FurEver™, the world’s first mushroom urn for animals. Announced on World Animal Day (October 2, 2025), the urn is designed for both indoor keepsake and outdoor burial.

“They’re very cuddly,” Hendrikx says with a smile.

The urn comes in two sizes — 0.5 liters for smaller animals and 1.5 liters for larger pets — and is crafted from mycelium and upcycled hemp fibers. When buried, it biodegrades fully within 45 days, enriching the soil. Families can also keep it indoors as a natural, organic memorial. 

Easier than ever before

No matter which of Loop Biotech’s products deathcare professionals may be interested in, it’s easier than ever before to offer them to the families you serve. In the early days, every casket shipped from the Netherlands — a logistical nightmare for a time-sensitive profession.

“People died and I was like, hey, can you ship it? Sure,” Hendrikx laughs. “It takes one month — or a few days if it goes by air, but that’s super expensive.”

Now, Loop Biotech has warehouses in New York and Los Angeles, allowing next-day delivery anywhere in the U.S.

“That totally changed,” Hendrikx says. “We can have it the next day with any family member, which is a huge win.”

An ever-expanding footprint

The company has also built its business around transparency and practicality.

“We’re super transparent with pricing,” Hendrikx explains. “We have a distribution model, regular funeral home model, and end-consumer pricing — with enough margins for all parties to eat and make sure the sustainable impact goes hand in hand with profits. Because in the end, we can only make a sustainable impact if there really is a functioning business model.”

That three-pronged distribution model has proved successful for Loop Biotech, as the press and public accolades for its products have intrigued both corporate partners and eco-conscious individual families.

“We had several direct sales from families,” says Hendrikx. “We had various indirect sales via partners. We onboarded new partners like Titan Casket, Passages International, and recently also in Canada with Mount Pleasant Group and Victoriaville. We see a lot of interest coming up from various angles — a lot to juggle, but the good problems to have.”

Those “good problems” reflect the momentum of a young company scaling fast. Hendrikx estimates that 15 to 20 burials using the mushroom casket have already taken place in the United States.

With U.S. warehouses, expanding partnerships, and international recognition, Hendrikx says the next step is deepening their North American presence — and perhaps a broader retail partnership. To learn more about Loop Biotech, reach out to Hendrikx and his team at https://loop-biotech.com/contact/.

Loop Biotech launches the first mushroom urn for pets on World Animal Day: “A Positive Pawprint” 

DELFT, The Netherlands, October 2 – For millions of people worldwide, pets are beloved family members. Saying goodbye is always painful, yet it can also be meaningful. On World Animal Day, Loop Biotech unveils the Loop FurEver™, the world’s first urn grown entirely from mushrooms, offering a sustainable and loving way to honor pets while giving back to the earth. 

“Our pets give us unconditional love. Yet farewells too often end in urns made of metal, ceramic, or plastic – products that pollute the planet. That must change. With Loop FurEver™, farewell transforms into new life: memories live on while nature is restored,” says Bob Hendrikx, founder of Loop Biotech. 

The urn comes in two sizes: 0.5 liters (for cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, parakeets, and small dogs) and 1.5 liters (for larger dogs). Families can keep it at home as a soft remembrance or bury it outdoors. Within 45 days, the urn completely returns to the soil, enriching biodiversity and nourishing new life. 

A Positive Pawprint 

Each urn is grown in only seven days from mycelium – the root network of mushrooms and nature’s most powerful recycler – combined with upcycled hemp fibers. Like the Loop Living Cocoon™ (mushroom coffin) and the Loop EarthRise™

(urn for people), the new product reflects Loop Biotech’s mission: to turn every farewell into an opportunity to enrich the earth. 

A global and growing need 

The pet funeral industry is expanding rapidly. Worldwide, tens of millions of dogs and cats are buried or cremated every year, with cremation accounting for the majority. According to Grand View Research (2023), the global market for pet funeral services is growing by an average of 11% annually, driven by stronger emotional bonds between people and their pets, and the growing demand for sustainable choices. 

“We see a clear shift: more families are looking for sustainable, 

nature-friendly ways to say goodbye to their pets. The Loop FurEver™ offers comfort while directly giving back to the planet,” says Amaryl van Ravenhorst, Pet Funeral Care Netherlands. 

“Loop’s mushroom urn is a groundbreaking innovation that fits perfectly with the global movement toward sustainable funeral products. It makes farewells more natural, personal, and meaningful,” says Peter Biemans, Funeral Products. 

Available now worldwide 

Through partnerships with funeral care providers and distributors, the Loop FurEver™ is already available in Europe and North America. It can be purchased via crematoria, pet funeral homes, selected retailers, and the Loop Biotech webshop. 

About Loop Biotech 

Founded in 2020 by Bob and Lonneke Hendrikx, Loop Biotech is the creator of the world’s first mushroom coffin and urn. From its base in the Netherlands, the company develops funeral products that enrich nature. Since 2021, thousands of families in Europe have chosen Loop Biotech for sustainable farewells. With the launch of Loop FurEver™, the company extends its mission to pets: restoring balance with nature and creating new life from every goodbye. 

Source 

Grand View Research (2023). Pet Funeral Services Market Size, Share & Trends Report, 2023–2030. Available at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com 

New products come to market all the time. The issues for companies with new products include how to make potential consumers aware of them and how to distribute the product to those consumers.

The Loop Biotech “Living Cocoon” is a new poduct for green burials.  According to an article in Funeral Service Times “The Loop Living Cocoon is a coffin grown from mycelium – the underground root network of mushrooms – which acts as “nature’s recycler”, breaking down organic matter and returning nutrients to the soil. The concept is simple yet revolutionary: instead of being buried in a material that takes decades to decompose, the mushroom biodegrades in as little as 45 days – enriching the soil and leaving no environmental footprint.”

Recently, the Netherlands developed product has found acceptance in Great Britain and has signed Poppy’s Funerals as one of their dealers.  According to the Funeral Service Times article, “Designed and developed by Loop Biotech in the Netherlands, this pioneering product is now available across the United Kingdom, offering a natural and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional coffins. Around 20 funerals have already taken place using the mushroom coffin in the UK.”

Perfect for Green Burials??  —  Again, according to the Funeral Service Times article, “The Living Cocoon is not only 100% biodegradable, but it also enhances biodiversity. It is grown in just seven days using a combination of mycelium and upcycled hemp fibers, and it can hold up to 200kg (about 440 lbs.) while itself weighing around 30kg (about 66 lbs.). Certified by the Funeral Furnishing Manufacturer’s Association (FFMA), it is both suitable for traditional and natural burials, as well as cremation. Its rapid decomposition process ensures that the body contributes to the regeneration of the earth, rather than polluting it.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  As green burials grow in popularity is the mycelium casket an option for those burials?  We think so and when you look at the reasons one might prefer a green burial its use seems to make a lot of sense.  It is just another in a host of products that are coming to market that create a growing “Death Care choice Optionality” that seems to be growing world-wide.

In that thought process, the mycelium casket is another one of the growing vairety of product that your funeral home should either have on hand or know how to acquire in a short period of time if or when it may be requested by a family.

An American mycelium company — Here’s a 2024 news video and article from Fox 43 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, about a mycelium based casket company operating in the United States.

• The Setas Eternal Rest mycelium casket company website

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