Spacegoods Scores £2.5M for Functional Mushroom Blends

Adaptogenic drinks are brewing up more than a buzz.

What’s happening: British functional beverage brand spacegoods raised £2.5M in a seed round led by Five Seasons Ventures to scale its powdered wellness blends.

Its flagship product Rainbow Dust – featuring a mix of chaga, cordyceps and lion’s mane mushrooms – touts focus, sustained energy and calmness as benefits.

Amassing 75K customers since launching in 2022, mostly by selling DTC and via Amazon, spacegoods extended its reach last year through a partnership with Holland & Barrett.

Why it matters: Battling burnout and chronic illness, consumers are seeking holistic solutions – including anti-inflammatory, brain-boosting superfoods.

Cashing in, the $31B functional mushroom market is pitched to grow ~11% annually to 2030.

• Founded in 2012, Four Sigmatic mainstreamed mushroom coffee, since expanding to 64 countries and selling 100M+ servings.
• Irish coffee alternative OYL recently secured €700K and restructured its business behind its three-mushroom “Focus” blend.
• After landing £50K through TV show Dragons’ Den, UK adaptogenic coffee startup London Nootropics now counts 10K monthly DTC customers.

Keeping pace, Finland’s KÄÄPÄ Biotech – the largest functional mushroom supplier in Europe – raised €3.5M in November to increase production.

Takeaway: While 2B cups of coffee are consumed daily, anxiety, insomnia and rebound fatigue are pitfalls of high caffeine intake. Fusing smaller doses with functional mushrooms – that taste good, blend well and offer cognitive benefits – could alter the morning “coffee” ritual for many.