Robin Gurney, director of Estonian-based organic mushrooms supplier Musheez, told NutraIngredients that as mushrooms gain momentum across Europe, some of the bigger companies are starting to take notice of the category and realize it’s on the radar of the consumer.
“Big players are now asking about claims, behaviour in different food matrices, and they’re looking to dig a bit deeper,” he said. “I think we’re moving beyond food supplements into functional food and drink as well.
“That gap is being bridged now, and the big players are definitely paying attention.”
He noted that the movement is driven by the growing popularity of mushrooms in supplements and by novel food regulations that permit certain mushroom extracts—particularly water-based extracts from species such as lion’s mane, reishi, maitake, and shiitake—to be used in foods for their functional benefits.
Gurney added that there is a good amount of innovation happening across the show floor in drinkable formats, noting that after the functional coffee boom, carbonated drinks like kombuchas are likely the next to take centre stage.
Overcoming functional mushroom formulation challenges
With the innovation come formulation challenges, Gurney noted, namely taste and solubility.
“Mushrooms aren’t everyone’s favourite flavour, and reishi — which has the largest body of useful research behind it — is extremely bitter,” he said. “So you need to combine it with flavours that work well, like chocolate. For example, reishi chocolate works very well.”
He noted that pure reishi extracts can dissolve well, making them suitable for a wide range of applications, however lion’s mane is less soluble and can become gelatinous, often requiring ingredients like maltodextrin to improve formulation.
Additional to formulation challenges, there are some concerns around the quality of mushroom raw materials and the consistency of active compounds across different extracts and products.
However, Gurney noted that this is being gradually addressed through an ‘evolving knowledge’ of mushroom bioactives.
“In the supplement sector, people are increasingly focused on functionality — asking whether the product contains the compounds of interest, whether lion’s mane contains hericenones, whether the correct fungal part is being used, and so on,” he said.
“That means using techniques like nuclear magnetic resonance and liquid or gas chromatography to verify every batch.
“It’s no longer just about polysaccharides and beta-glucans — we’ve moved beyond that. Brands want proof that these active compounds are actually present.”
He added that functional food manufacturers show slightly different priorities as they are working within the constraints of mainstream food and beverage formulation and consumer expectations.
“Companies are more focused on whether the species is correctly identified, whether it complies with novel food regulations, and whether the taste, solubility, particle size and oil-holding capacity are suitable for the application,” he said.
Trending health areas for mushrooms
As Gurney noted, mind health areas continue to lead the charge in mushroom growth, particularly around sleep improvement and stress management. Cognition remains a major focus too, but is now attracting a slightly younger audience.
Looking to the future, Gurney hopes that the next area of growth for mushrooms could be in sports nutrition applications.
“I think lion’s mane applications related to nerve growth factor (NGF) could eventually be explored more in muscle repair — things like muscle tears and recovery in athletes,” he said. “That area has been under-investigated, and there’s definitely room to explore lion’s mane for nerve recovery throughout the body, not just in the brain.”
Beyond category interest, Gurney expects that new species will begin to take the timelines.
“Maitake is probably next, alongside deeper exploration of shiitake and even oyster mushrooms,” he said. “There’s a growing body of research there, so eventually the market won’t just focus on chaga, reishi, lion’s mane and cordyceps — we’ll also see other mushrooms becoming more prominent in Europe.”