Aug 18, 2025 - News
"Functional" mushroom sales surge in Salt Lake City
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Mushrooms are sprouting up in your coffee, soda, chocolate and meat blends.
By the numbers: Sales of functional mushrooms in Salt Lake City have jumped nearly 600% — from $428,700 in the first half of 2021 to $3 million during the same period this year, according to NielsenIQ.
State of play: We're not talking about "magic" mushrooms.
- "Functional" mushrooms include lion's mane, chaga, reishi, shitake and cordyceps.
- Some reported health benefits include enhanced memory, a better mood and an improved sex drive.
Reality check: Despite their growing popularity, University of Utah Health dietitians say such "claimed benefits don't stack up to the research" and studies on human are limited.
- "The more established benefits surrounding mushrooms are due to their richness in prebiotic fibers," Sofia Whitefields, a registered dietitian at the OSHER Center for Integrative Health, said in an article last year.