M2 Ingredients, a vertically integrated functional mushroom grower and ingredient supplier, has opened the M2 Center of Innovation, a food, beverage, and supplement R&D application lab designed to accelerate innovation and elevate industry standards for functional mushroom product development.

The M2 Center of Innovation brings together functional mushroom R&D teams and a purpose-built facility to support brands developing foods, beverages and supplements across formats including RTDs, ready-to-mix powders, gummies, capsules, shots, bars and more.

“This is a major step forward not just for M2, but for the entire functional mushroom industry,” says Jeff Rogers, CEO of M2 Ingredients. “Brands have historically had to choose between ingredient suppliers and true innovation partners. The M2 Center of Innovation eliminates tradeoff by combining deep scientific rigor with real-world formulation and application expertise. This will be a powerful asset for our partner brands and a catalyst for faster, more confident innovation.”

The M2 Center of Innovation is fully integrated with M2’s cultivation, processing and scientific research teams. This vertical integration allows common formulation challenges such as solubility, suspension, flavor pairing and sensory performance to be addressed at the ingredient level.

The Center of Innovation will be led by Jay Schmalz, R&D innovation manager at M2 Ingredients, and supported by M2’s in-house team of food scientists, formulation experts and researchers with decades of experience developing functional foods, beverages and supplements for leading consumer brands.

“This Center of Innovation reflects the infrastructure the functional mushroom space has been missing,” says Sandra Carter, founder of M2 Ingredients. “It is designed to help brands move beyond concepts and into market-ready products that deliver on both efficacy and experience. We believe this will fundamentally change how functional mushroom products are developed and commercialized.”

Chief Science Officer Julie Daoust notes the Center was shaped by her own experience leading R&D and innovation teams on the consumer brand side earlier in her career.

“This is the partner I always wished I had when I was responsible for bringing new products to market — a team that understands ingredient science, formulation realities, scale-up challenges and commercialization timelines all at once,” Daoust says. “The M2 Center of Innovation allows brands to innovate without having to build a full internal R&D infrastructure, while still delivering products that truly work.”