Mynd<\/a> was born from a breakthrough in Mills\u2019s research. <\/p>\nAn independent bioactive compound test by Callaghan Innovation indicated that Mynd\u2019s NZ lion\u2019s mane mushroom extract was the first of its kind to contain both erinacines and hericenones, the bioactives credited to the cognitive health benefits of the international variety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were aware that nerve growth-stimulating erinacines in lion\u2019s mane mushrooms are most present in the mycelium, not the fruiting body,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe developed a cultivation technique that allows us to harvest pure mycelia.<\/p>\n
\u201cCombining the mycelia and mushroom fruiting bodies results in an extract rich in bioactive compounds. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur heat extraction process ensures bioavailability and retains a wide spectrum of beneficial compounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mynd is a collaboration between Mills, Eldin, Dana Gray and Fraser McConnell and is the result of four years dedicated to growing and studying NZ lion\u2019s mane. <\/p>\n
Mills, Eldin and a team carry out the science and production. <\/p>\n
Gray and McConnell oversee product, design and marketing.<\/p>\n
The mushroom merry-go-round <\/p>\n
![\"Harvested]()
Harvested mushrooms being prepared for drying. <\/p>\n
The NZ lion\u2019s mane growth cycle starts in the lab, and Mills maintains the cultures.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get a weekly crop of 400kgs of fresh mushrooms, the cycle begins four months prior, with me starting the first stage in the lab,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very full on with no downtime, but we have a talented team supporting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The main grow room is well insulated to regulate temperature, and a forced air flow regulates humidity. <\/p>\n
Records of the temperature and humidity ensure optimal growing conditions, replicating a similar climate to that of a native forest.<\/p>\n
About 2 to 5% of fruiting bags get contaminated by competing bacteria in the early stages of the process, and they are removed from the grow room.<\/p>\n
Following harvest, the fruiting body and mycelium undergo a controlled, heat-extraction process that breaks down the cell walls (chitin), improving the bioavailability of key bioactive compounds. Independent third-party testing for contaminants by Hill Laboratories ensures product purity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have all the factory equipment onsite to create a high-quality NZ lion\u2019s mane supplement,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have worked closely with customers to develop a variety of products they love, including the pure supplement in powder form and capsule form, plus coffee and chocolate products in collaboration with local Raglan companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team at Mynd stand behind mushroom farming\u2019s sustainability, requiring less land, water, and energy than many conventional crops.<\/p>\n
The soybean hulls and pine sawdust in the grow bags are both by-products of other agricultural systems, and following harvesting, are broken down into a sought-after, rich mycelium compost. <\/p>\n
While aware of the need to minimise plastics, Mynd currently relies on recyclable grow bags to keep the mushrooms safe from bacterial competition.<\/p>\n
Mills was proud that they were the first mushroom farm in New Zealand dedicated to brain health, and were the 1% that grew their own in a market full of imported powders.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom spore to supplement, right here in Raglan, NZ, in some of the cleanest air on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Food for thought Seasoned mushroom grower Sean Mills already has an established mushroom business with his wife, Emily…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21933,105310,105309,30643,38115,1888,105312,22511,52169,55698,14234,105308,111,43,139,69,22056,45396,28142,8693,105311,105313,30638,29415,18840,102],"class_list":["post-159900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-bags","tag-bioactives","tag-develops","tag-extract","tag-filled","tag-first","tag-inoculated","tag-lines","tag-lions","tag-mane","tag-mushroom","tag-mynd","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-outskirts","tag-proven","tag-quiet","tag-raglan","tag-shelving","tag-substrate","tag-tall","tag-units","tag-warehouse","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}