This is the newest brainchild of mushroom community stalwart MycTyson
Performance Fungi expands upon the success of Hericium Labs‘ Lions Mane tinctures and capsules (which I personally use daily) to include fruiting body Cordyceps, Reishi, Chaga, Maitake, and Turkey Tail extract. The addition of a much larger new extraction facility ensures that Performance Fungi will be able to meet the increased demand that comes with scaling an already reputable business, and the work ethic and philanthropy efforts championed by the team behind this company sets the bar for the myco industry.
Oakland Hyphae probably doesn’t need an introduction, but in case you somehow haven’t yet heard of this Black owned and BIPOC centered grassroots powerhouse – the brand has grown into an internationally-respected organization with multiple verticals including Hyphae Nootropics for functional mushroom supplements, Hyphae News for media, and the Psilocybin Cup for mushroom testing – now is the time to start paying serious attention to the Oakland Hyphae network.
3. Los Malos Eloteros
(@los_malos_eloteros on IG)
Los Malos Eloteros are a premium corn substrate provider that is known and loved by the underground mycology community. The mycopreneurs behind the business are consummate professionals and true innovators in the field of sterilized mushroom substrates, and I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of the product they’re offering. They’ve been around for 10+ years and are poised to become more visible in the above ground myco industry over the next year.
4. Mycozine
(@mycozine on IG)
Mycozine is a print media publication conceived of by Oakland’s Tomas Garrett. This project offers a welcome reprove from the digital over saturation of psychedelic content that has exploded into the world, and offers a chance to connect with other mycology enthusiasts and underground brands that are making essential contributions to the international myco community.
5. Nuvedo
Nuvedo is based in Bangalore, India and is helping to foment the mushroom revolution on the Indian subcontinent. I was really impressed with the vision and execution laid out by the company founders when I had the pleasure of learning about the nascent Indian mycopreneurial movement via hosting the Nuvedo founders on Mycopreneur Podcast.
With well over 1 billion citizens, India is a country that could benefit greatly from increased mushroom farming and access to high-quality nutrition in the form of oyster mushrooms and other popular and accessible fungi – as well as mushroom materials and mycelium leather among many other myco possibilities.
This collective of critically-vulnerable female mushroom entrepreneurs in Uganda is changing lives in a profound way. Josephine Nakkakande is the steward of this nonprofit that teaches women in Uganda how to produce oyster mushrooms in rural communities with severely limited resources. The immediate positive impact that mushroom farming brings to these abjectly impoverished communities include enabling women in the region to go from making under $1 US per day to up to $15 per day, providing food security, and helping them attain increased self-sufficiency and entrepreneurial acumen.
ITW genetics and mushroom supplies are well-known in the myco community, and the workflow behind the brand continues to be streamlined and improved upon alongside the evolution of the mycosphere and new genetics streaming in from around the planet. The ITW team have established themselves as one of the leading myco genetic and supply providers in the space and show no signs of slowing down.
8. Ousia Labs
This Loveland, Colorado based tabletop extraction equipment manufacturer is helping individuals and companies streamline their CO2 extraction workflow. With an international client base and models ranging from the forthcoming tabletop extraction targeted towards at home extractors all the way through to industrial scale models capable of handling bulk extraction, Ousia is quickly growing into the premiere manufacturer of affordable CO2 extraction equipment.
This Hawaiian mushroom start up started with a home mushroom grow in a lava cave on the Big Island and has matured into a rising power in the functional mushroom industry. Their content marketing is on point and expertly embraces meme culture, and the general level of stoke they’ve built and spread within the mycosphere is a testament to their long staying power in this space moving forward.
This boutique farm and producer of mushroom chocolates is highly reputable and trusted in the mycosphere for a reason. With a philanthropic heart and an academic and professional background in lab sciences and cultivation, this mycopreneurial startup possesses all of the qualities that will ensure they are successful in the mushroom space for a long, long time.
11. Myco-center
Mycocenter is a community mycology space and education center that is headquartered in San Diego, California. They have an extremely impressive facility and are aligned with various philanthropic causes such as supporting military veterans and underground myco community events. I’ve visited multiple times and have been blown away by the scale and quality of the operation – they are definitely a rising powerhouse and have everything necessary working in favor for them to be an established player in the myco industry for years to come.
12. Mycosymbiotics
Mycosymbiotics is the brainchild of William Padilla-Brown, another mycopreneur who doesn’t need an introduction. The recent $1 million dollar valuation of Mycosymbiotics is a high water mark for the entire mushroom startup ecosystem, and with recent additions to scaling both the core team and their operational facilities, this myco brand deserves recognition among the top players in the field in 2023.
13. Kaapa Mushrooms
Kaapa is a multi-vertical Finnish mushroom startup with international distribution deals secured in North America, Europe and China. They also steward over the largest Chaga mushroom cultivation network on the planet, and are currently building out one of the largest exotic mushroom grow facilities in Europe. The combination of experienced leadership, organizational strategy, and an unrivaled commitment to sustainability and premium quality fruiting body mushroom supplements and nootropics guarantee that Kaapa mushrooms will be one of the most bankable brands in the global mushroom industry moving forward.
This Ocean Beach, San Diego based mushroom farm and myco startup has been making waves for several years now. The company has scaled into a newer, larger cultivation facility and has expanded its offerings to include home grow kits and tinctures. The community impact they’ve made in Ocean Beach is carrying over to new markets and into broader, more national recognition for the company.
15. K’an K’an
This mushroom-based restaurant in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico serves dishes featuring exotic mushrooms cultivated in house. Their oyster mushroom burger with plantains is a crowd favorite, and the husband and wife team behind this project have recently expanded their offerings to include homegrown Lion’s Mane fruiting body powdered supplements. They are also experimenting with more diverse exotic mushrooms, recently adding log-grown shiitake mushrooms to their repertoire.
16. Flow State Micro
This Northern California startup has established themselves at the forefront of microdosing culture and education. They have secured an ongoing collaborative partnership with James Fadiman, the father of microdosing, and are launching the first in-person / virtual hybrid microdosing workshop collaboration with the legendary Esalen Institute this month. The entrepreneurial experience and acumen, in addition to a high quality functional mushroom microdose stack they’ve engineered, has us betting on Flow State Micro to continue being one of the leading microdosing supplement and education providers in the world moving forward.
17. Fungaria
Fungaria is a team of young mycopreneurs dedicated to educating the citizens of their home state of Chiapas, Mexico about the robust funga that exists in their state. Fungaria has been executing world class educational experiences and forays for over a year now, and have grown to collaborate with local and state authorities in conducting educational campaigns and events revolving around the fungi of Chiapas. They have started to pop up on the international radar as well, with the founder recently hosting a takeover of the North American Mycological Society Instagram account.
18. Mushroom Design
This female-owned functional mushroom supplement brand has a sleek visual aesthetic that serves a useful purpose as well – the beads contained within their transparent gel capsules help with maximum absorption and bioavailability of the fruiting body mushroom extracts contained within. The combination of mushroom knowledge and marketing experience possessed by the team behind this brand makes them a strong candidate to be a staying presence in the mycosphere for years to come.
This soon to be launched skincare and beauty brand emphasizes an often overlooked quality of mushrooms; they can make you radiant on the outside as well as on the inside. This startup is based in Houston, Texas and is the latest myco offering from The Mushroom Goddess, who has been featured on the Mycopreneur Podcast.
20. Everyday Dose
This mushroom coffee brand offers a fruiting body mushroom and real coffee alternative to some of the mushroom-based coffee alternatives currently on the market. I received a sample of the product and quickly adapted it into my morning routine to great effect – an immediate and flavorful boost without the accompanying jitters and 2 pm energy crash that my diet of black coffee often leaves me struggling with. The serial entrepreneur behind the brand brings a wealth of experience with mushroom coffee into this new project, and I’m betting that Everyday Dose will be one of the most successful mushroom coffee brands in their market niche.
This is another mushroom coffee brand that offers a highly imaginative take on traditional Cuban Coffee. Their Lion’s Mane mushroom blend uses fruiting body Lion’s Mane mushrooms cultivated in house and mixed into premium quality coffee in the famous Cuban Coffee style. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy Cafecito Leoncito coffee as part of my morning routine and will definitely be re-upping in the near future.
22. Oklahoma Fungi
This mushroom startup has attained national recognition and an increased visibility over the past couple of years and shows no signs of slowing down. They are one of the premiere mushroom educators and cultivation supply vendors in the United States, and we’re looking to them for big things over the next few years as they continue to evolve and level up their brand.
This San Diego-based mushroom farmer and entrepreneur has built a successful brand over 20 + years of professional mushroom cultivation at scale. Their involvement with local philanthropic causes and their ingenuity on the cultivation and tincture making side showcase the staying power of a passionate mycophile with a keen business sensibilities, and I will continue to source tinctures from them indefinitely.
