The name Hifas originates from hypha, the branching structures that form mycelium networks that enable connection and growth. Hifas da Terra has presence as a biotechnology company in over 20 countries and has more than 60 R&D projects with over 15 currently active in areas such as oncology, women’s health and gut health.
“Our primary objective is to help redefine the mushroom category in the U.S. by establishing a science-backed, clinically grounded benchmark,” said Catalina Fernández de Ana Portela, PhD, founder and CEO of Hifas da Terra. “While the American market has shown strong enthusiasm for mushrooms, much of the category today is still driven by ingredient-based narratives and general wellness positioning. We believe the next phase of growth will be defined by clinical validation, standardization and reproducible outcomes.”
The company said one of its other advantages is that it has spent over 25 years operating within a highly demanding European scientific and regulatory environment. This has allowed it to develop a level of scientific rigor that Hifas da Terra believes will soon become the global expectation.
Based in Pontevedra, a coastal province and city in Galicia, Spain, the company’s headquarters encompasses an R&D hub, biotechnology laboratories and specialized production facilities where Hifas da Terra manages its worldwide quality standards and innovation pipeline. About 62% of its profits go back into R&D.
A focus on precision
Hifas da Terra addresses key health and wellness needs such as cognitive support, immunity, digestive health, stress and sleep, energy and vitality, detox and cleanse, women’s hormone balance, and beauty and anti-aging.
The brand’s ecosystem includes a network of more than 200,000 functional and integrative medicine practitioners across Europe, who actively prescribe Hifas da Terra products in their daily medical practice. This real-world clinical use provides continuous feedback, reinforces research hypotheses, and bridges the gap between laboratory science and patient outcomes, the company said.
“For us, a mushroom is not an ingredient; it is a complex biological system. We design our extracts with precision, targeting specific biological pathways related to immunity, neuroplasticity, and overall resilience,” Fernández added. “Every solution we offer is the result of this deep, science-first commitment.”
To preserve the full integrity of its products, Hifas da Terra’s initial shipments to the United States are being imported directly from its biotechnology facilities in Spain to maintain control over strain selection, cultivation, extraction and final formulation. That vertical integration is critical to ensuring pharmaceutical-grade consistency and high concentration of bioactive compounds, the company said.
“Our next step is to begin sourcing and developing medical-grade mushroom production in the United States, working with local partners and capabilities while maintaining our strict quality system,” Fernández said. “The ambition is to progressively build a model where these products are not only distributed in America but increasingly produced in America without compromising the scientific standards that define Hifas da Terra.”
Decades of foundation
Hifas da Terra was founded in 1998 as a project that came out of the University of Santiago de Compostela and together with the company’s co-founder, Esteban Sinde. Fernández and Sinde met while studying biology, sharing a strong interest in applying science to health challenges.
One idea that shaped the two students at that time came from a professor who used to say that scientists should build health companies so that decisions are always driven by results first and economics second.
“That philosophy stayed with us and became one of the foundations of Hifas,” Fernández said. “But beyond the academic side, my connection to this field is very personal. My father is a phytopathologist and mycologist, and I grew up in Galicia surrounded by nature in a house in the middle of the woods. My sisters and I were raised observing ecosystems, learning about mushrooms, harvesting them, cooking them, and really understanding them beyond science as part of life.”
She spent years watching how these ecosystems evolved, especially in chestnut forests where some of the first mycorrhization projects in Europe took place. On the other hand, Fernández’s mother, who is a New Yorker, imparted an entrepreneurial mindset and the belief that everything is possible. Her family’s roots in New York go back to the 1880s when Fernández’s great-grandfather emigrated from Galicia.
“In many ways, Hifas da Terra was born at the intersection of those influences: science and entrepreneurship, nature and biotechnology, Europe and an international outlook with an eye always set on the United States,” she said.
