The global market value of mushrooms is exploding towards nearly $53 billion, and mushroom products ranked in Nielsen’s top 10 functional food trends last year. What’s driving this fungi frenzy? For starters, mushrooms pack PROVEN nutritional and healing benefits backed by plenty of research. Lion’s mane, cordyceps, reishi, shiitake, turkey tail, and other medicinal mushrooms contain mighty compounds like polysaccharides, antioxidants, adaptogens, prebiotics, and anti-inflammatories for enhancing immunity, energy, cognition, beauty, sleep, stress resilience, and more. Just as importantly, mushrooms are having a pop culture MOMENT too thanks to innovative new mushroom formats entering grocery aisles and ecommerce wellness shops. Move over moringa and turmeric because mushrooms are claiming the functional foods spotlight as companies get creative, competitive, and downright CULINARY crafting the most DELICIOUS mushroom delivery vehicles ever.
Mushroom infused culinary creations
The bone broth entered the scene with a splash promising to be the magical elixir for gut health? Now, mushrooms are becoming consumer’s nutritional muse and inspiring all kinds of new directions in the kitchen just the same. Food formulators, recipe developers, and innovative brands are having fun figuring out how to fuse super food mushrooms into staple grocery items through oils, smoothies, granolas, chocolates, honey, coffees, teas, broths, jerky and more. However, one breakout category rising to the top for redefining HOW people easily access mushroom nutrition in a truly ENJOYABLE format is…you guessed it, mushroom gummies! These gelatin-free goodies deliver a spectrum of mushroom extracts in a sweet, chewy daily supplement that makes consuming functional fungi delicious.
A spoonful of mushroom magic
Have you noticed how mushroom gummies supplements are taking over the vitamin aisle lately? Gourmet gummy recipes that blend hair, skin, nail, joint, antioxidant, or metabolism-boosting compounds into natural fruit gel bases are letting consumers ditch boring pills and chalky powders. Plus, the whimsical shapes, colors, and flavors make achieving better beauty, health, and performance FUN rather than feeling like a chore. This increased mainstream appeal and ENJOYABILITY of multicentre gummy treats has laid the groundwork perfectly for supercharging the next evolution of supplements with mushrooms!
Mushroom gummies build upon people’s positive associations with childhood candies and call upon sensory nostalgia while DELIVERING potent wellness benefits. The gel format TAPERS the often strong, bitter medicinal taste of reishi, cordyceps, lion’s mane, and other mushroom varieties into pleasant fruited confections. This makes mushrooms accessible for the first time to the masses who may have avoided the polarizing PUNGENCY of liquid tonics and powders before.
A daily dose of fungi for everyone
Have we sold you yet that mushroom gummy innovation will soon be as ubiquitous as apple cider vinegar shots and matcha lattes at your local upscale grocer? Well, you heard it here first. ‘Shrooms are infiltrating every aisle and carving a permanent place for fungi in the specialty food landscape.
While purist naysayers argue that whole mushrooms or liquid tonics boast higher concentrations of raw medicinal power, let’s get real. How many of us are going to eat re-fried reishi chips or add cordyceps crackers to our charcuterie boards (though props if you do!)? Supplementing with mushrooms needs to FIT into existing habits and appeal to more PALATES if global functional food forecasts are expected to come to fruition.
