A SCOTTISH food brand has announced it has secured a major deal which will see its products appear on the shelves in more than 250 Tesco stores across the UK.
The Moray company Love Mushrooms, based in Forres, is run by long-term friends Erik Lang and Smith Feeney who run their organic mushroom farm and laboratory on Marcassie Farm.
According to reports, research has backed the pair's products to show the mushrooms can help with an array of “health benefits” including concentration, stress, anxiety, energy and immunity.
The entrepreneurs’ range includes reishi, cordyceps and lion’s mane.
The fungi will be stocked in more than 250 Tesco stores and will also be available on the supermarket’s website.
Feeney told the Press and Journal that he and his friend Lang are both fascinated by the benefits of mushrooms and how “closely connected” they are to our wellbeing.
Feeney said: “Research has shown that humans share 50% of our DNA with mushrooms.
“Like Erik, I’ve been growing lots of different varieties of mushrooms for years wherever I’ve been living in the world.
“And have done a lot of research into their amazing health benefits.
“Mushrooms and fungi have for centuries been sustenance for those who know how to harvest and use them.”
Feeney founded Love Mushrooms four years ago with Lang and he believes the food firm has a big future ahead of it.
He also touched on how Marcassie Farm was “the perfect place” to start the business.
“It’s a peaceful place, and a real close-knit community, which champions innovation and creativity as well as promoting heritage crafts, food growing and artisan production,” he told the Press and Journal.
“We started making our tinctures and people really loved them, so we knew we had a good business idea.
“We’re very proud to be listed in Tesco and our goal is to keep growing the brand while remaining rooted in our community and our values.
“We’d love to make Love Mushrooms an international brand.”
Lang has been growing mushrooms for more than a decade and worked as a sous chef around the world.
He said: “We’re excited to be stocked all over the country in Tesco, as well as online, and to be on a permanent Clubcard deal.
“It means we can bring functional mushrooms to the mainstream.”
