The center brings together pilot-scale beverage and food formulation, sensory and flavor pairing expertise, solubility and suspension optimization, and deep mushroom-specific ingredient science.
“The idea emerged from within our leadership team as we repeatedly saw brands eager to work with functional mushrooms but struggling to translate that interest into real, scalable products,” said Jay Schmalz, R&D commercialization manager at M2 Ingredients, who leads the center. “There was a clear gap between demand and applied expertise, and we knew we could help close it.”
She noted that M2 Ingredients built this center to address a common misconception in the United States that products containing mushrooms will have a negative taste or texture.
The 2,000-squared-foot center—which launched a year after conception—is located within M2 Ingredients’ 155,000-square-foot campus in Vista, California. The team supporting the operation includes food scientists, chemists, mycologists, natural product experts, application specialists and quality control professionals. They work from the finished product backwards, studying how functional mushrooms perform under real processing conditions including heat, pH, fat systems, liquids, fermentation and shelf life across various formats.
“The Center is fully integrated into our broader R&D, manufacturing and quality systems, so innovation is grounded in real world scalability from day one,” Schmalz added.
Functional mushrooms lagging?
Functional mushrooms are biologically and chemically complex ingredients that do not behave like typical plant extracts, fibers or proteins. According to Schmalz, there has been limited applied research focused on how they perform in food and beverage systems.
“As functional ingredients have gone fully mainstream, that gap has become more visible,” she said. “This center brings mushroom biology, chemistry and food science together in one place so that innovation is informed by data and experience rather than trial and error.”
In contrast to the lack of data, Schmalz explained that functional mushroom ingredients may be outpacing other supplement and functional ingredient categories in both retail growth and consumer adoption. Over the past several years, U.S. consumer interest in functional mushrooms has accelerated rapidly, driven by increased scientific research, broader awareness of natural health solutions during the COVID era, and cultural moments such as the Fantastic Fungi documentary.
“At the same time, highly successful mushroom coffee and beverage products have helped normalize mushrooms as a daily wellness ingredient, particularly for consumers looking to reduce caffeine while maintaining energy and focus,” Schmalz said.
According to the company, the objective of the new space is to share hard-earned knowledge that raises the bar for the entire category.
“With the space, the team and the infrastructure we have today, we can support partners in a much more intentional and scalable way than ever before,” Schmalz said. “Our goal is not to chase trends, but to help brands innovate responsibly, efficiently and with confidence as functional mushrooms continue to move deeper into the mainstream.”
