Love Mushrooms: Bridging Nature, Science, and Holistic Wellbeing – From foraging in the forests of Northern Scotland to founding an award-winning functional mushroom brand, Smith, co-founder from Love Mushrooms has turned curiosity and a love for fungi into a mission to support holistic wellbeing for all.
Can you tell us what first sparked your fascination with mushrooms and mycelial science?
It’s hard honestly to pinpoint one specific fascination I had originally into mushrooms other than that I was simply pulled in by a deep curiosity in the relatively unknown world of fungi and mycelia. Foraging mushrooms in the right seasons definitely helped – something I was very new
to at the time. Also, I was fed by the snippets I was picking up through reading into the purported
benefits of functional mushrooms and was thinking ‘wow, this is really wild – almost too good to be true’. Once I started reading into the process of cultivating mushrooms and how cool it seemed to me that it was possible to grow them (something I’d never really considered at the
time maybe a decade ago), then I couldn’t help but sink deeper and deeper into my fun-guy-ness.
Love Mushrooms has grown into an award-winning brand. What was the moment you realised this venture could become a business?
Yes, good question, but again fairly abstract to pinpoint a specific moment, mainly because Love Mushrooms developed gradually from super localised sales in Northern Scotland first at farmers and craft markets (we were always seen as an anomaly and fascination by the attendees), to local health stores, those gradually expanding in geographical spread across Scotland, then we developed our website and other online sales around the same time, and finally we started to catch the attention of larger chains. I guess that rather than being a specific moment that I realised the potential of larger business growth, it was a gradual journey and ‘pinching oneself’ that we had the privilege to offer these products to an ever-increasing audience for holistic wellbeing.
You have a background in the charity sector with a focus on environmental and social justice. How has that influenced the way you run Love Mushrooms?
Thanks for noticing this. What I tend to speak to is that because of this background, I come pre-set with a deep, lived sense of justice and equity. From working on many issues from climate to labour rights, environmental education, water issues, energy systems, homelessness,
mental health, social enterprise development in developing economies, amongst other topics, I’ve noticed that these issues of equity and justice are deeply interwoven in all. Within health and wellbeing, I see that the food supplement market is hard to access to many, and there is a huge variety in quality in the products offered. Companies seem too often be motivated by profit alone. Now, I recognise that profit and therefore commercial sustainability is critical, but for me, ensuring the highest quality products at the most affordable prices allows for higher accessibility across socioeconomic circumstances is therefore one of the issues we’ve focused on. There are many other areas too such as organic certification, supply chain assurance, care with who we partner with, etc, that also have been influenced by my background I believe.
Marcassie Farm sounds like a magical place. How does living and working in such a biodiverse environment shape your approach to creating mushroom supplements?
Yes, it is a very special place! I am privileged to live here and have the work I do, truly. I mean I’ve had the privilege of living in very rural and beautiful locations for the last 15 years or so (I’ve never been a city man). I think being situated more in the natural world has had a beneficial effect on my consciousness and conscience. I believe it has gifted me a way of seeing the world which is more in tune with nature and its natural rhythms – something I have the impression that many people have sidelined nowadays, understandably. I can imagine that living in a city I may have become more disconnected from nature and become swept away by everything both positive and challenging that the urban environment offers. Who knows.
Love Mushrooms is known as The Home of Functional Mushrooms. How would you explain “functional mushrooms” to someone new to this world?
Good question! Yes, Functional Mushrooms are those which go beyond ‘food’ and ‘nutrition’ solely. The need for the distinction is mushrooms being a ‘food’ is how most people understand them, understandably, but there are potential benefits far beyond nutrition.
‘Functional’ applied as an adjective therefore denotes that the alleged potent benefits of these mushrooms which may range from cognitive to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory to metabolic balance, and so much more. It should be noted that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which are the medicine and food regulators for the UK, respectively, have not approved any official health claims for functional mushrooms so we need to be careful how we phrase things. Our products are sold as food supplements.
However, anyone can search for themselves the many scientific studies and research journal articles that exist on these topics. It is part of our mission to also point customers and humans that hold an interest in mushrooms towards the information that exists so people can educate themselves and make informed choices.
Your supplements combine tradition and science. Can you walk us through how your products are developed, from concept to finished supplement.
Something that many people don’t know is that many functional mushrooms have been used in different forms in traditions winding way back hundreds and thousands of years. For example, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Reishi was referenced and revered almost 2000 years ago! When we mention ‘Tradition’, it is a nod to ancient forms of food wisdom that have been guiding people in different ways back countless generations. When it comes to ‘Science’ we are combining the Tradition with current methods and techniques to ensure we can offer the highest quality products. For example, we use Ultrasonic Assisted Extraction to produce our liquid extracts, which is a modern and highly efficient technology for extracting and capturing the beneficial compounds.
And therefore, in our process of developing our products, we understand and integrate both the ancient and contemporary understanding of mushrooms into conceptualising our products, often in collaboration with professional nutritionists and research teams (we recently worked with a team at Oxford University in this way). If other ingredients are required, such as vitamins, minerals and adaptogens – as in our latest women’s wellness range – we then ensure high quality and excellent sources. We supply the mushrooms and often now as we are producing such large volumes, we have everything packaged in one of our partner facilities for shipment to our warehouse.
Organic certification and sustainability are clearly important to you. How do you ensure that every product aligns with your values?
By only producing organic mushrooms, and sourcing organic ingredients where possible is a hardline for us. We only use these ingredients in our products and will always do this. In terms of sustainability, we do our best to ensure sustainable packaging, for example avoiding plastic where possible and ensuring our partners are doing the same.
Are there any particular mushrooms or blends that you’re especially proud of, and why?
I am absolutely in Love with our new Empower range that covers menopausal, perimenopausal and PMS. We have developed these in collaboration with a research team at Oxford University and not only do they include a blend of our favourite mushrooms (Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, as well as Maitake and Shiitake), they also include a very carefully selected group of minerals, plant extracts, and vitamins all for the signs of these. We have also worked with GEN-M to ensure they are certified with their notable M-Tick to evidence efficacy which I’m really proud of. We’ve essentially only just launched these, so we are yet to see how they land in the market, but I have high hopes.
Mushrooms have become a buzzword in wellness. What’s the biggest misconception about them you’d like to clear up?
The UK is traditionally, what you’d call, a ‘mycophobic’ country. For example, in the UK we don’t generally, grow up through childhood being taught how to forage mushrooms in the forest like in many countries. In fact, there is a deeply ingrained cultural narrative that says ‘don’t trust mushrooms, they are dangerous’. Although true for a small subset of mushrooms, this is a bending of the truth. We want to educate on the benefits of mushrooms as safe and supporting holistic health. We want to turn the ‘phobic’ into ‘philic’ – or a love of mushrooms instead of a fear – and would love people to understand more what they’re consuming and how their lives may be enhanced by using functional mushroom products.
How do you personally incorporate mushrooms into your daily wellness routine?
For me it’s simple: I am a smoothie man, meaning I have a smoothie every morning and I swear by it. I use our Liquid Drops in my smoothie, often Lion’s Mane, but sometimes Reishi if I’m feeling low, or Cordyceps if I feel like I’m needing a boost in energy.
For someone curious about functional mushrooms but feeling overwhelmed by choices, what would be your advice for starting out?
Identify the needs you have in relation to the possible benefits of functional mushrooms and go slow. In short, Lion’s Mane is for the brain; Reishi for calm and an anti-inflammatory; Cordyceps is energy and circulation. Many opt for Lion’s Mane to start with because, you know, who
couldn’t use a bit of a cognitive boost, but it also doesn’t suit everyone, and everyone has different needs. Start with a lower dose – with Love Mushrooms products that would either be one capsule or one liquid drop pipette – and see how you get on. Try it out for a month and assess.
Love Mushrooms is part of a wider community hub at Marcassie Farm. How does collaboration with other smallholding enterprises influence your work?
It’s inspiring more than anything and creates an environment of inter-support and motivation. Marcassie is full of amazing land-based and craft initiatives, and everyone is on their own journey and doing incredible work. I’d love for Love Mushrooms to get to a place where we can invest more into the farm and support in that way too as we’re probably the largest business based on the farm, so let’s see what the future holds.
Your work blends environmental awareness with wellness. What’s your vision for how Love Mushrooms can make a meaningful impact on both people and the planet?
Part of the original intention of Love Mushrooms was also to support people to learn how to grow their own food, in the form of mushrooms. For me, it’s all about community and how we can support those around us to rise and be empowered. So, whenever we have the resources and capacity, I’d love to move into this part of the vision. Beyond that, as a growing but ethical business in a profit-driven world, we have an opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate how we’re doing things – whether in organic, supply chain responsibility, plastic reduction, etc – and hopefully inspire others to follow and improve on our path!
Are there any upcoming projects, collaborations, or product launches you’re particularly excited about?
We have something incredibly exciting coming through of which we’ll be the first in the UK, as far as we know, to be providing. Let’s say that your skin will love it! Watch this space, our newsletter at lovemushrooms.co.uk.
With a commitment to sustainability, community, and education, Smith and Love Mushrooms are proving that the path to wellness can be as much about caring for the planet as it is for ourselves—one mushroom at a time.
Poppy Watt