B2B B2B Most functional mushroom suppliers talk about 10:1 extracts, certificates and active compound percentages. These are important components, but they describe the final product. The quality of a mushroom extract is decided much earlier. At the level of spore selection, substrate control, fruiting time, optimal harvest timing, and cultivation location.
Aloha Fungi wasn't born in a warehouse. It was born in a clinic. Mateusz Rosa, an international TCM therapist and author of the books "Holistic Body" and "Holistic Mind", worked with patients through 8 years of therapeutic practice before founding the brand. The raw material we supply today to brands, manufacturers and clinics in Poland is the same raw material he used therapeutically. That changes everything that follows.
Mushrooms are living organisms, one of the oldest intelligences of life. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, mushrooms are not merely the sum of their active compounds. They are organisms with their own temperament, taste, organ tropism and unique role in nature.
Every extraction method has its cost. We gain something at the expense of something else. Over-extraction can destroy nature's harmony. A product may carry impressive numbers on the label, but it loses what makes a mushroom a mushroom.
That's why at Aloha Fungi we don't aim solely at high percentages of single substances. We pursue both numbers and natural balance. Both extraction precision and the harmony of the full profile. Both pharmacology and spirit. Art, not only science. This philosophy is what most deeply distinguishes us from a typical supplier.
Whether a B2B client buys Reishi from us for capsules, Lion's Mane for a functional beverage, or Poria for a therapy clinic, they receive raw material produced according to the same production philosophy. Five pillars we set before an extract even reaches a client's batch.
Pillar 1
Every species of functional mushroom has dozens, sometimes hundreds of cultivation strains. They differ in growth rate and aromatic profile, but above all in their secondary metabolite profile. A fast-growing strain does not always produce high levels of hericenones, ganoderic acids or β-glucans. We work with growers who use strains selected for metabolites, not tonnage.
The second element of the same pillar is maturation time. Mushrooms are living organisms. Like good wine or aged cheese, they need time to fully develop their bioactive profile. Shiitake matures in about five months. Reishi in about eight. Cordyceps differently, Chaga differently still. Not every supplier lets their mushrooms reach full maturity. Shorter cultivation time means higher turnover and lower unit cost. It also means a poorer bioactive compound profile.
In the TCM tradition from which Aloha Fungi grew, maturation time is an inseparable part of what a mushroom becomes. Polysaccharides, β-glucans, triterpenes, cordycepin, hericenones — all require time to synthesise in the fruiting body at full concentrations. We work with growing families in which knowledge of optimal cultivation conditions has been refined and passed down through generations. We do not shorten this process.
Pillar 2
A mushroom grows from what the substrate provides. Our suppliers do not use cheaper, starch-enriched substrates whose residues distort polysaccharide assay results (a well-known market practice). They use natural wood-based substrates, thermally sterilised and hand-packed in protective casings. Thanks to control at this stage, cultivation requires no pesticides at any step of the process. The Chinese raw material we work with comes from high-mountain regions, far from cities and industrial centres, certified by the German organic certification body CERES, one of the most demanding organic certification systems in Europe.
Pillar 3
All Aloha Fungi extracts are produced from the fruiting body, not from mycelium grown on grain (mycelium-on-grain). The difference is fundamental. The fruiting body is the mature form of the mushroom in which the active compounds are concentrated. Mycelium grown on grain consists largely of starch from the substrate, not the mushroom itself.
Independent tests show that mycelium-on-grain products often "mirror" the nutritional profile of the grain on which they grew. Hence the marketing terms used by many producers: "full spectrum", "whole mushroom", "myceliated grain", "biomass". These are synonyms for a product in which up to 80% of the mass is not the mushroom itself, but grain substrate.
The regulators' position is unambiguous. The US FDA, in Compliance Policy Guide 585.525, states that mycelium-on-grain products should not be labelled with the mushroom's name, because this misleads the consumer. In the European Union, dehydrated mycelium (mycelium powder) of many species — including Lion's Mane, Coriolus and Cordyceps militaris — is classified as Novel Food under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. Without separate EFSA authorisation, selling such products in the EU is unlawful.
β-glucans, the key immunomodulatory parameter, reach concentrations of 20-40% in fruiting-body products. In mycelium-on-grain products, they are often below 5%. The fruiting body delivers certainty. Mycelium delivers a promise. For a conscious brand, verifiability matters more than a promise.
One additional detail. When a producer declares "polysaccharides" on the label, you should check whether the figure refers only to water-soluble polysaccharides or to total polysaccharides (the sum of soluble and insoluble). Only the water-soluble fraction is bioavailable and functionally relevant. The insoluble fraction is excreted from the body without absorption. Many market products declare 30% or 40%, but precise chromatographic analysis reveals that the actual soluble fraction is 5-10%. Aloha Fungi declares only water-soluble polysaccharides.
Pillar 4
The active compounds in mushrooms have different solubilities. Polysaccharides (β-glucans) require hot-water extraction. Triterpenoids (ganoderic acids), hericenones and cordycepin require alcohol. A single extraction, regardless of solvent, always omits part of the active profile. All our extracts are produced through a dual water-alcohol extraction process. The water-soluble fractions and alcohol-soluble fractions go together into the final product.
Pillar 5
The fourth pillar is maximally effective extraction. The fifth pillar is maximally responsible extraction. This is not a contradiction. It is the tension at the heart of our work. You can push an extract to a point where a single active compound reaches a record concentration. The number on the label looks impressive. But the mushroom stops being itself. It becomes a fragment, an isolate, a molecule torn from its context.
That's why even in the PRIME line, where we deliberately raise the concentration of active fractions to 80%, we keep 20% fruiting-body powder. It's not a filler. It's a deliberate decision that keeps the mushroom a mushroom.
Quality control at Aloha Fungi runs in two stages. The first takes place in China, shortly after harvest and initial processing. Every batch of raw material is tested at source for heavy metals, pesticides and microbiological purity, before it ever moves towards Europe.
The second stage is validation at the independent European laboratory EUROFINS, one of the largest analytical laboratories in Europe. EUROFINS tests every batch against around 250 parameters: heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic), pesticide residues, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), ethylene oxide (EtO), radioactivity, microbiological purity, determination of active fraction content (water-soluble β-glucans, polysaccharides, triterpenoids depending on the species).
For clients who need additional certainty about the species identity of the raw material, we arrange an identity test (fingerprint analytical) on request. Chromatographic verification that the powder actually comes from the mushroom species declared in the specification. For most clients, the EUROFINS COA is a sufficient level of documentation. For brands working on a premium line or launching products into markets with particularly demanding audits, an identity test is an available add-on.
EUROFINS is not our proprietary laboratory. It is an external auditor. That matters, because it eliminates conflicts of interest. The Aloha Fungi B2B client receives a COA per batch, not per supplier. Our control criteria are markedly stricter than the minimum required by Polish and EU food law.
Aloha Fungi is not a company run by salespeople. Every product decision brings together three perspectives that very rarely meet in one place in the Polish functional mushroom market.
Founder
International TCM therapist with a Doctor of Acupuncture Level A certificate issued by the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies (WFAS, an NGO in official relations with the WHO). 8 years of therapeutic practice and tens of thousands of treatments. Author of the books "Holistic Body" and "Holistic Mind".
Mateusz brings the therapeutic perspective. He knows how a mushroom behaves in a patient, how it works in a protocol, what not to combine.
Technologist
18 years of practice in the functional mushroom cultivation and extraction industry. He runs yilovesmushroom.com, a technical blog about mushroom extraction — he publishes how to spot cutting corners instead of writing marketing copy.
Yi brings the production perspective. He knows what happens to raw material between cultivation and capsule. He recognises when a supplier's specification makes sense and when it's just a number on paper.
Therapist
Acupuncturist and Chinese medicine therapist. Jakub works with patients in the clinic, runs supplementation protocols, and verifies how raw material performs in real cases.
A second therapeutic perspective as a check on the first.
This team means we look at the mushroom not only as a product, but above all therapeutically. That's rare in the importing trade. It's natural in a brand that grew out of practice.
A partner brand that chooses Aloha Fungi as a formulation base gains access to two product lines. Both are built on the same quality chain described above. They differ in final composition and intended use.
50% extract and 50% fruiting-body powder. A 10:1 extract from dual water-alcohol extraction, blended with fruiting-body powder for the full natural raw-material profile.
A line for daily preventive supplementation, for wellness products, for brands working on gentle tolerability under long-term regularity. A price per serving that makes multi-year consumer protocols possible.
See LONGEVITY on alohafungi.pl →80% pure extract and 20% fruiting-body powder. Multi-fraction composition — combining several extract fractions obtained under different conditions. Polysaccharide fraction for β-glucans. Alcohol fraction for triterpenoids. Low-temperature fraction for hericenones.
A line for brands creating premium products, for therapy clinics, for targeted protocols. Maximum concentration of active fractions confirmed at EUROFINS.
See PRIME on alohafungi.pl →Your brand can use one line or both, depending on the positioning of a specific product. Help with the choice is part of the partnership package.
That's our USP in consumer sales. It works in B2B too. In most Polish wholesalers the conversation starts with the question "how much do you need?". With us it starts with the question "what are you building?". We match the species, the extract form and the product line to the project you're creating — not to whatever happens to be in stock.
Sometimes we recommend less than the client intended to buy. Sometimes we suggest an entirely different species, because it fits the formula better. Consultation is part of the product, not an add-on. Compliance, species selection, format selection, line selection. Everything you get in the package is what Mateusz Rosa has been doing for patients in the clinic for eight years. Only directed at your product instead of an individual protocol.
To honestly show where Aloha Fungi sits in the competitive landscape, it's worth understanding the dominant types of producers in the functional mushroom category in Europe today.
Type 1
The most common in the economy segment. A ready-made powder of mycelium grown on rice or oat grain, in which up to 70% of the mass is starch from the substrate. The label says "Reishi", but independent tests show that the nutritional profile mirrors the grain on which the mycelium grew. β-glucans rarely exceed 5%. The price is low — and so is the real content of active compounds.
Type 2
The producer buys 10:1 extract powder from a wholesale supplier, packs it under their own brand, sells it. The raw material is of better quality than in Type 1, but the producer has minimal control over the chain. They don't know the spores. They don't control the substrate. They don't know whether extraction was dual. They don't verify batches. The label says "10:1 extract", but the customer doesn't know exactly what they're buying.
Type 3 · Aloha Fungi
We work with growers at the level of spore selection and substrate control. Suppliers with CERES certification. Technologist Yi with 18 years of experience. A founder with TCM therapeutic authority. Dual water-alcohol extraction, and for PRIME multi-fraction. EUROFINS validation. Fruiting body, not mycelium. Standardisation on specific fractions. The price is higher than at Type 1 and Type 2 producers. A more expensive chain — but every stage is documented.
Choosing fruiting body over mycelium is not only quality. It's full legal compliance. Under the current legal framework of the European Union (Regulation 2015/2283 on novel foods), the fruiting bodies of most functional mushrooms are classified as traditionally consumed ingredients.
Dehydrated mycelium (mycelium powder) of many of them, including Lion's Mane, Coriolus and Cordyceps militaris, is classified as Novel Food and requires separate EFSA authorisation. A brand building a product with mycelium risks market withdrawal or proceedings by URPL (Polish Office for Registration of Medicinal Products). A brand building a product with Aloha Fungi fruiting body has this problem solved at the source.
This is one of many details where compliance is part of our partnership package. The full regulatory FAQ for brands is in our compliance knowledge base.
We work with cosmetic manufacturers, supplement brands, functional beverage producers, specialty coffee chains and therapy clinics in Poland. One public example of partnership is Coffeedesk, one of Poland's most recognisable specialty coffee brands.
In November 2024 Coffeedesk cafes launched autumn functional beverages based on our extracts: Faster Brew (coffee with Cordyceps) and Holistic Cacao (ceremonial cacao with Cordyceps, Lion's Mane, Reishi and Chaga). The implementation showed that functional mushrooms can enter the everyday cafe ritual without turning into a medical product.
Tell us what you're building. We'll match the species, the extract form, the product line and the partnership path to your project.
Regulation, not magic.