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Odyssey , a mushroom - free-base functional vigour beverage Lord , raised another $ 6 million in an equity investing to give it $ 14 million in total funding since launching its first drink two geezerhood ago .
Odyssey ’s products tap into the wellness benefits of Lion ’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms to produce a drink that combines an energy boost with 2,750 milligrams of the mushroom to furnish cognitive clarity and focusing .
Lion ’s Mane , in particular , was show to positively bear upon cognitive social occasion and humor in vernal adult , according to a 2023 National Institutes of Health pilot burner work .
Scott Frohman , laminitis and CEO of Fort Lauderdale , Florida - based Odyssey , first learn about the benefit of sure mushrooms from a supporter create a mushroom-shaped cloud powder to mix in drinkable .
“ I part add up it to my coffee tree , and I realized that everything was more clear , ” he told TechCrunch . “ The best part was when I got to work , I actualise that I did n’t need that 2d loving cup of coffee . On top of that , I just feel I was just more present and was able to jump to my work . ”
A $ 58 M round for this European Mycelium inauguration shows the technical school is on the cusp of big things
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However , Frohman did n’t exactly like how the gunpowder affected the sense of taste and grain of the drinks , and opt an energy drink delivery , so he began working on Odyssey in 2021 . Today , the party has 11 SKUs , including flavors like Passion Fruit Orange / Mango , Dragon Fruit Lemonade and Blackberry Lemon Twist .
The vitality in the drinks come from a compounding of L - Theanine , Panax ginseng and green tea caffeine . And there is less tot sugar to help minimize “ the heebie-jeebies ” and sugar crashes typically associated with traditional free energy drinks , Frohman say . For those who want even more of a caffeine boost , the company latterly introduced the Odyssey 222 line with 222 mg of caffein in accession to the mushrooms .
Over 5,000 stock , including Publix , CVS , GNC , Erewhon , 7 - Eleven , Thrive Market , Wegmans and Bristol Farms bear Odyssey ware . Frohman did n’t provide emergence metric unit , but did say the company is seeing sales event pick up in price of three to five cans per workweek per SKU being sold .
Growth in the operable drinkable industry accelerated in late long time as consumers progressively looked for tidy solid food . Theglobal usable pop class is expectedto be valued at $ 208 billion by 2027 . That ’s inspire new brands to emerge andenticed some venture capitalists to investin the sector .
mushroom-shaped cloud protein company Meati Foods open ‘ mega ’ readiness ; closes $ 22 megabyte in fresh funding
During this time , we see brands like healthier soda companiesPoppiandOlipopgrab uppercase in 2022 , whileThe Ryl Companyraised $ 6.7 million in early 2023 for its line of functional quick - to - drink tea leaf .
Odyssey also link up a long list of companies leveraging mushrooms and mycelium , the beginning of the mushroom cloud , to make everything fromalternative proteinstoleather - alike materialsto building materials . Companies likeInfinite Rootsare even growing mushrooms for commercialisation role .
“ As the timing is no doubt correct , mycelium can bring home the bacon over consumers with perceptiveness , nutritional , useable , scalable and impact - refer benefits , ” say PeakBridge CTO Maya Schushan Orgad in areview of mycelium trends .
Meanwhile , Odyssey ’s new funding round let in strategic investor Richard Laver from Rocket Beverage Group , who joins a group of existing stakeholders contributing 50 % of the total raised amount .
Frohman be after to allocate the capital toward stock list to keep distribution go away and hire in the areas of cut-rate sale and merchandising .
“ We do n’t see this as just a product , but a whole effort , ” Frohman said .
Poppin ’ bottles : VCs go on to pour millions into independent drinkable startups
