Our Story
We started Grolia with a vision to make growing healthy food easier for everyone.
Drawn to mushrooms for their unique health benefits and fascinating role in nature, we experimented with growing our own. It was messy, we were frustrated by inconsistent results and the high-maintenance required. Grow kits are cheap but demand constant misting - too often we would go away for the weekend and sadly find our mushrooms had dried out. Any serious growing setup involves bulky equipment and a tent or plastic tubs - things you’d hide in your garage. If you want cooling to grow a larger variety of mushrooms, then you’ll also need to duct some kind of air conditioning system as well - definitely not suitable for a kitchen!
The idea for Flush was born… We knew that if there was a compact, plug-and-play solution, the process of growing mushrooms at home would instantly become fascinating and fun for everyone.
(Why Flush? When a ‘crop’ of mushrooms fruit, it's called a Flush.)
Grolia assembled as a team of five mates with a shared passion for health, innovation and adventure. After developing our first prototype, we approached Little Acre Mushrooms to be our technical advisors and partnered supplier for the mushroom fruiting blocks. 3 years later we finished our v4 model - ready to be released to the world.
Determined to set a new standard for product stewardship - ensuring sustainability in our product’s life cycle - Flush has been designed and built in Australia with durability as a top priority. Flush looks beautiful on your bench, and paired with our mushroom fruiting blocks (supplied on a subscription), it's a long-term set and forget solution, not just a short term hobby.
This is just the beginning, Flush is our first product but there’s more to come…
About Grolia
We make products that create the most captivating and convenient experience of growing fresh food - empowering people to live a healthier and more self-sufficient lifestyle.
Based in Newcastle, Australia, we’re a small but passionate team of engineers and designers - united by a shared love of health, innovation and adventure. We have a small but efficient workshop, with a great community around us including established and highly innovative workshops who we’re lucky to call mates (Evo Technology and Design Anthology).
Meet the Team
More than 10 years experience in industrial design and automation, and a lifetime of passion for building new things, Oliver is the perfect fit as our Technical Design Lead. Oliver has led many teams with roles including Head of Production for a recycled plastics manufacturer, Technical Design Engineer for a medical diagnostics company, and Engineer & Facilities Manager for an innovation lab. Oliver thrives in dynamic problem-solving environments where he is given the opportunity to innovate and lead product development. Oliver really, really loves rock climbing, and yoga.
Liam has a passion for large projects and designing with the environment in mind. He thrives on collaboration, sharing ideas and driving positive change. Liam has spent the last 8 years on infrastructure projects as an engineer and sustainability consultant. After building a hydroponics veggie garden with his twin brother Oliver in 2017, they saw the potential for innovative urban agriculture which planted the seed for Grolia as a business venture. Liam loves adventures with his wife Sophie, surfing, rock climbing, and hiking in their spare time.
With 8 years of experience across mechanical, electrical and automation systems, Ben thrives in technical and innovative environments. An avid problem solver, Ben is led by his strong curiosity yet objective and critical approach. Ben has designed and built our custom made electrical system and circuit board. We met Ben through rock climbing and that’s where our adventures together started…
Sophie brings the professional yet creative flair to Grolia’s marketing and branding. Her creative expression exists in side-hustles of sculpturing designer furniture, weaving lampshades, and sewing unique fashion pieces. Sophie’s corporate background started in property economics, evolved to business development for electricity procurement and on-selling, and most recently involved ESG reporting. A true all-rounder and expert communicator, Sophie thrives in team environments. Born with an adventurous heart, Soph loves surfing and all outdoor ventures with her husband, Liam.
You can thank Steve for Flush’s amazing touch screen. Steve was the final piece in our Grolia puzzle. A true wizard in the world of code, a place most people shy away from... Liam and Steve met at University, ventured on two divergent paths, then saw the opportunity to combine forces to work on something the world hadn’t yet seen (enter Flush). Steve launched multiple apps to the App Store in 2015 in his early years as a Structural Engineer. He saw his calling in web development and never looked back, focusing on building engaging user experiences that seamlessly integrate functionality and aesthetics. Surprise, Steve also loves rock climbing!