Located in Kogelberg, South Africa’s oldest UNESCO-designated biosphere claimed to be one of the most pristine natural environments on the planet, the Bioshroom launched in 2022, establishing itself locally as a trusted supplier of pure, responsibly cultivated functional mushrooms.
Using only the fruiting bodies, and with all batches independently lab tested for bioactives, heavy metals, pesticides, allergens, mycotoxins and microbial contaminants, the firm promises high quality extracts.
Now, with the appointment of a new executive team, led by entrepreneur Simon Hazell as CEO and operations specialist Volant Wills as COO, plus a significant capital investment in structural upgrades, the team is gearing up for global success.
“I could see the potential for mushrooms immediately, then when I came across the facility, it was quite spectacular.” Hazell told NI. “There’s a high demand for Lion’s Mane across South Africa, primarily in supplement form but increasingly there is interest in adding it to foods and beverages.
“For example, Lion’s Mane is often added to reduced caffeine coffees, allowing manufacturers to provide the mental boost without the caffeine hit.”
Flies to fungi
Hazell previously founded the profitable insect protein firm Inseco, in 2018—where Wills also worked as factory manager— transforming low-value organic by-products into abundant, affordable protein.
After several fruitful years supplying primarily animal feed and fertilizer manufacturers, the firm hit a number of challenges, notably ‘load shedding’— regular power outages used in South Africa to prevent a total collapse of the national electricity grid.
Hazell said the recurring four-hour power outages devastated operations.
“Making the decision to wind down Inseco was incredibly difficult. In conclusion, the most important lesson I’ve learnt is that success isn’t just about technology. It’s about timing, resilience and a healthy dose of luck,” said Hazell.
“It was a demanding seven years, and when we closed I told my wife I wouldn’t get involved in another high intensity business. The next day, I received a call asking if I was interested in the position at Bioshroom.”
Purity USP
While China currently supplies more than 90% of global edible mushrooms on the market, Bioshroom argues this introduces concentration risk, pricing volatility and supply chain disruptions, which can extend to quality inconsistencies and contamination concerns.
Mushrooms are bio-accumulators that absorb nutrients and compounds directly from their environment, including unwanted contaminants like heavy metals or pollutants from the soil, water and air.
With its facility located in Kogelberg, alongside its use of purified mountain water and HEPA filtered air, the firm guarantees products free of contaminants.
The facility is located high in the mountains, over 1km away from the nearest industrial facility, and is run on solar power to keep our environmental footprint as low as possible.
Changes to production
The new leadership team has reduced the range of mushrooms varieties within the firm’s portfolio, allowing it to focus on the three best recognised—Lion’s Mane, Reishi and Cordyceps, in dried, powdered, and capsule formats.
They have also invested in facility upgrades, to ensure absolute reliability.
“To improve production reliability and efficiency, we have spent the last several months making upgrades to the facility. These were completed in mid-November, and production commenced thereafter.”
The first batches of Lion’s Mane powder with Certificates of Authenticity will be available in Jan 2026 with a focus on supplying local clients before extending its services across Europe, the UK and the US.
“Fortunately, this facility has a sizeable solar installation with both battery and generator backup. We are therefore fully shielded from any energy interruptions that may arise.”
In line with recent report noting the importance of testing for bioactives beyond beta-glucan content, Bioshroom extracts are all independently tested for levels of beta-glucans, hericenones, ergothioneine, ergosterol and adenosine.
Mycelium NPD
Looking to tap into the unique bioactives present in other parts of the mushrooms, the firm is also developing mycelium (the root-like structure of the fungus) extracts with purity highlighted as the USP.
“Fruiting bodies contain unique bioactives such as Hericenones, which may stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF), supporting neurogenesis (brain cell growth) and cognitive health, including improvements to memory. Fruiting bodies also have higher levels of beta-glucans (vs mycelium), which aid in immune function and gut health,” he said.
“Mycelium, on the other hand, contains unique compounds like Erinacines, which are also NGF stimulators with strong neuroprotective properties.”
Erinacines in particular have been a focal point in various research studies, with pre-clinical data suggesting that Erinacine consumption may help manage symptoms in diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers, he explained.
“The challenge with traditional mycelium production is that it’s often grown on grain substrates, making it difficult to obtain pure mycelium,” he added. “As a result, many products on the market contain significant amounts of grain rather than the desired bioactive-rich material.”
To overcome this, Bioshroom has developed a process to grow mycelium in a liquid fermentation system (reactor-based) to produce pure, grain-free mycelium with high concentrations of bioactives.
The firm is starting development of this range, with Lion’s Mane mycelium initially, with the plan to officially launch in Q3 2026.
