The U.S. market for mushroom supplements and enhanced functional foods reached $1.1 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 11-13%.
U.S. mushroom supplements in particular achieved 75.8% sales growth in 2023, the largest gain of any top 40 ingredient in mainstream retail channels, according to the American Botanical Council’s 2024 Herb Market Report.
“Mushrooms are moving from niche to mainstream, with rapid growth showing they’re more than a passing trend; they’re becoming a core category in wellness,” said Kara Siedman, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist.
“Each mushroom offers unique bioactives, from immune and energy support to cognitive and anti-inflammatory benefits, making blends a powerful way to target multiple systems with one formula,” Siedman told FI.
According to Rachael Miller, a nutritionist, herbalist, and the founder of Zhi Herbals, most functional mushrooms have become more available as consumer interest and demand has increased.
“Small farms that previously only grew culinary mushrooms have realized that the growth methods are similar to what they’re already doing for culinary, and that it’s worthwhile for them to grow medicinal mushrooms too,” Miller told FI.
“Things like lion’s mane are now available even at farmers markets. The customers of these growers are asking for reishi, lion’s mane, and turkey tail in addition to more popular culinary mushrooms,” Miller added.
Benefits of Functional Mushrooms
“Reishi helps regulate stress and immunity, lion’s mane supports brain health and focus, and cordyceps is prized for energy and stamina. Together, they tap into exactly what today’s consumer is seeking; calm, clarity, resilience, and natural performance,” said Amanda Hester-Smith, president, R&D officer, and founder of Balaveda.
Also known as Hericium erinaceus, yamabushitake, bearded tooth fungus, or bearded hedgehog, lion’s mane mushrooms in particular have been getting a lot of attention lately for their potential to reduce stress, improve cognitive function, boost mood, and more.
As a result, it’s become a popular ingredient in functional foods and beverages as of late – especially functional chocolate.
Beyond the confectionery space, functional mushrooms have also been showing up within the coffee segment.
The brand MUD\WTR, for example, infuses its functional beverages with an organic mushroom blend that includes chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, and cordyceps mushrooms.
Miller says the boom in functional foods that contain mushrooms is directly related to the increased demand.
“Processors have more information now than ever before on the best ways to extract mushrooms into medicinal single- or dual-extract supplements and make food additives. More demand means that they can also experiment with types of mushrooms that just didn’t have enough interest to be produced or imported as extracts in the past. Because of more production taking place, many of these products are becoming more affordable as well,” Miller told FI.
However, while many of today’s consumers – especially younger ones – tend to gravitate toward functional foods and beverages in lieu of supplements, some experts note that it can be tough to infuse these products with a high enough amount of the functional ingredient to actually get a therapeutic benefit.
“Firstly, whether it’s lion’s mane, turmeric, or collagen, the doses that have been shown to have benefits in clinical studies are typically much larger, compared to the tiny ones that are sprinkled into most of these chocolate bars,” advised Dr. Nicholas Dragolea, a GP at London-based My Longevity Centre.
“These functional bars are therefore more about the ‘healthy’ headline rather than hard science and health benefits. Consumers should remember that if they were indeed a beneficial health supplement, then they would have to be labelled as one, and functional chocolate doesn’t have to carry supplement related warnings at present,” Dragolea told FI.
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