While we’re definitely not here to call anyone out, we’ve found that the processes many businesses use for their medicinal mushroom extractions are rather opaque.
How so?
Businesses don’t typically share how they source their mushrooms, what extract ratios they employ—and/or what those ratios actually signify—or the studies and research they use to guide their medicinal mushroom extractions.
Unfortunately, this often leads to an uneducated consumer who’s easily duped by opportunistic businesses with unsavory aims.
And while we understand the need to protect proprietary information and years of research and development, we strongly believe in transparency, information sharing and collaboration. It’s very mycelial of us, we think.
So, while most companies believe they need to protect their processes of medicinal mushroom extractions to protect their profits, we at Mindfull Mycology believe something a bit different:
Educated consumers = Increased demand for high quality products
High quality products = Increased medicinal benefits for consumers
Happier, healthier consumers = Increased demand for products
Increased demand = Booming medicinal mushroom industry
If you’ve ever heard the saying “A rising tide lifts all boats,” you get the idea.
As for our medicinal mushroom extractions, the most important part is pretty simple.
For every 1 liter of extract we make and bottle, we aim to use 1 pound of 100% dried mushroom fruit bodies (each batch has slight variations).
When you consider that most mushrooms—e.g. Lion’s Mane—are 90% water, that means on average 10 pounds of fresh mushrooms are used for every 1 liter of medicinal mushroom extractions we make. For comparison’s sake, that’s 2-8 times more mushrooms than most other companies on the market.
Why do we use so much? That’s like asking Mercedes-Benz why they spend more money making high-quality cars.
From a business perspective, it’s far more sustainable to sell a high quality extract to a new customer who then receives some benefit and turns into a brand loyal repeat customer than it is to sell an inferior product and constantly need to attract new, one-time sales.
From a marketing standpoint, it’s a lot cheaper (plus, we’d rather spend our money on mushrooms than Mark Zuckerberg).
But mostly, it’s an ethical decision. We’re not here to get rich. We’re here to help people live healthier, happier lives. We’re here to make a product we’re proud of. We’re here to make a product we ourselves take. We’re here for quality.