Ottawa, ON – February 23rd, 2022: Forage Hyperfoods, a company specializing in mushroom-based wellness products, is pleased to announce the successful closure of the company’s private placement financing round of $3 million. Since its inception in 2020, Forage has endeavoured to produce Canadian-harvested mushroom products and is in the process of building the largest mushroom-focused vertical farming network in the world.
The funds will be used to expand their team, establish and launch their vertical farming projects, and drive sales growth among their line of Health Canada-licensed natural health products.
Established by the husband-and-wife duo of Jonathan and Chanel Murray with the help of veteran angel investor Shane Currey (FullScript, Ecoation), Forage operates two production facilities in Quebec and Ontario. It has received Health Canada production-site licensing and launched 17 products, including 10 Health Canada-licensed products. They have also developed innovative farming technologies, which they are looking forward to launching later this year.
“We’re thrilled by the support we’ve received so far with our unique approach to this emerging sector,” said Jonathan Murray, Co-founder and CEO. “The feedback on our quality has been rewarding for our consumer-packaged goods, and it really validated our approach to the space. We took a different path to the sector by first securing Canadian domestic supply for our mushrooms instead of importing them from China or Russia.”
By securing supply from Canada, Forage has mitigated possible supply chain disruptions that could have become more prevalent in the coming years. This strategy also helps generate more domestic revenue, taking advantage of the fact that the global functional mushroom market was estimated to be worth over $12 Billion in 2021. Forage also makes its products using sustainable wild-harvested mushrooms, creating economic impact and international revenue from unused forestry products.
“It just makes sense,” said Murray. “Our untouched harvesting grounds are more vast than most countries, and with their distance from most industrial operations, they’re free from pollutants and other contamination that can be found in imported products. We began with Chaga mushrooms, which grow only in Northern Boreal forests, but have added Reishi, Turkey Tail and Lion’s Mane varieties.”
In recent months, Forage has made key hires, including co-founder of Assent Compliance Rob Imbeault as Chief Operating Officer, Matt Morrison, previously of Bell Canada and MedSys as Chief Revenue Officer, and Colin Fardy, CMA, CPA as CFO. “Our executive team not only brings experience but also a maturity that will both fuel and stabilize our rapid growth,” said Murray.
Looking to the future in 2022, Forage Hyperfoods is excited to announce that they are currently in the process of building the largest mushroom-focused vertical farming network in the world. This will provide a streamlined and reliable supply-chain system as their product will be grown and transported within Canada. More information will be provided at a later date.