If you've noticed a recent influx in exotic mushrooms — think lion's mane and king oyster fungi — enlivening produce displays with the standard white button mushrooms, you're not alone.
Specialty mushroom grower Smallhold recently announced that its mushrooms will hit shelves at 192 Sprouts Farmers Market locations in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Related news: What's so magical about (edible, culinary) mushrooms?
Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., Smallhold operates indoor mushroom farms in New York City, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. The new Sprouts partnership will increase availability of Smallhold's fresh mushrooms on the West Coast significantly, with Sprouts receiving mushrooms grown at Smallhold's California mushroom farm, according to a news release.
“We're excited to partner with Smallhold, a company who shares in our mission of providing people unique, fresh and sustainable products,” Sydney Manzano, Sprouts assistant produce manager said in the release. “Smallhold's premium specialty mushrooms, including lion's mane and blue oyster, will be proudly available in our stores.”
Yellow oyster mushrooms (Photo courtesy of Smallhold)
With expansion into Sprouts, Smallhold mushrooms will be carried in over 650 retailers and restaurants across the U.S. Other retailers carrying Smallhold mushrooms include Whole Foods Market, Erewhon, Pavilions, Lassen's, Imperfect Foods and Ralphs.
Breaking out of the typical mushroom offerings — often limited to button, cremini and portabellas — Smallhold provides a variety of the less-common specialty mushrooms for consumers.
“Nowadays, shoppers are demanding more variety and choice in the produce aisle, and Sprouts, a trusted grocer for anyone looking for high quality, top shelf produce, recognizes this," Andrew Carter, Smallhold CEO and co-founder, said in the release.
Cultivating mushrooms sustainably
Smallhold's 34,000-square-foot farm in Vernon, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles, began delivering locally grown, certified-organic specialty mushrooms in May 2022. Its California operations, alongside farms in Brooklyn and Austin, furthers the 6-year-old company's reach across the country.
Smallhold uses technology to optimize sustainable growing practices; the mushrooms grow in technologically advanced chambers designed to optimize yield, taste and color, according to the release.
The company's centralized sensor system can adjust the chambers' atmospheric parameters, controlling the inputs while accounting for changes in climate. Mushrooms are grown on waste byproduct medium — primarily sawdust from the timber industry — and packed into compostable cardboard.
"People care about low impact, sustainably grown food that will help our society contend with the impacts of traditional agriculture, food waste, and climate change. Smallhold and Sprouts are answering the call,” Carter said in the release.