Functional Mushrooms: What are They and How Can They Improve Your Health?

July 11, 2022

Are functional mushrooms the next great health secret? Earth and Star are doing their part in letting the secret out. They’re pairing the family-friendly mushroom extracts with everyday products to bring health benefits to anyone, even “mushroom haters”. Two-time entrepreneurs and founders Zoe and Erica join us on today’s episode of Lift U Up: Inspiring Health Stories to shed light on the science behind functional mushrooms and the challenges they faced to make their products widely approachable. 

Setting a Blueprint

Erica Huss and Zoe Sakoutis are no strangers when it comes to running a successful health company. In 2007 they founded Blueprint, a cleanse and juice company, and have been work-wives ever since. They describe themselves as wellness-seekers at heart with complementary skill sets that made teaming up a natural fit. Erica gives credit to Zoe for introducing her to not only using food as fuel, but the world of raw food, detoxing, cleansing, and more. Even though they launched at the height of a market crash, they saw rapid growth and sold Blueprint in 5 years. That experience prepared them as business owners, to be ready for anything. 

A Variety of Benefits

Years later, Erica and Zoe continued to pursue wellness in their daily lives, always interested in discovering the next great thing. That thing today? Functional Mushrooms. The benefits are nearly endless, with different types supporting immune systems, balance, energy, focus, sleep, skincare – the list really does go on! Functional mushrooms aren’t exactly what they seem, but extracts that carry over little to no discernible flavor. The science isn’t brand new, in fact many other countries have studied the benefits. When Erica and Zoe were introduced, they were quickly hooked on diving into the scientific findings and knew this would be their next venture to make such benefits accessible to the American consumer. 

A New Business is Born

With the new excitement towards Functional Mushrooms, Earth and Star was born. Erica and Zoe took everything they had been studying and found a way to package functional mushroom extract into vehicles like coffee, chocolate, and more everyday items. The use-case is similar to a vitamin, where daily use leads to impactful benefits. Their range of products utilizes different mushrooms and their benefits to ensure there is the right product for anyone. Today, the co-founders spend their days educating and spreading the word that functional mushrooms are the new ticket to improved health.  

What else can you expect in this episode?

  • What the pair attributes the success of Blueprint and their rapid growth to. 
  • How mushrooms are helping us in every area of life and improving the planet. 
  • How light exposure impacts your mood, sleep, and how you function throughout the day.
  • Their secret of adding vitamins in tincture form to your food. 
  • What to look out for with mushroom companies, and why to avoid “mycelium”

Where to find Earth & Star: