This is partly because of experts in popular culture who have touted their benefits. In 2022, Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib discussed mushrooms in their 2022 New York Times bestseller The Forever Dog, generating substantial interest in mushrooms for pet parents.
There is a growing trend in the pet space that focuses on the correlation between fresh feeding, home cooking and pet longevity, said Dr. Robert Silver, chief veterinary officer for Real Mushrooms and Canadian mushroom supplier Nammex.
“Mushroom use for dogs and cats has really taken off in the past few years…Pet parents are becoming more proactive and there is a great interest in natural health for our companion animals,” he said. “Pet supplement sales continue to grow strongly.”
Although market research firm SPINS does not track data about mushroom supplements for pets, it does monitor mushroom supplement consumption for people. Mushroom supplement sales reached nearly $160,000,000 in 2024, or a approximately a 20% increase from the prior year.
Bill Bookout, president of National Animal Supplement Council, said trends that occur for human supplement use often parallel pet consumption.
“With COVID, immune systems were challenged, and I think people were more conscientious of maintaining a strong and healthy immune system,” he said. “Mushrooms have immune system supportive benefits which is why they are up and coming for pets, too.”
A 2022 study showed that feeding the medicinal mushroom H. erinaceus improved the immunity of aged dogs and helped body weight control by regulating the gut microbial environment.
“Mushrooms are considered therapeutic foods for pets, and supplementation is an efficient way to add this ‘superfood’ to a pet’s diet,” Silver said. “The market for mushrooms in the pet space seems poised for massive growth as pet parents continue to look for ways to extend pet health and longevity.”
But not all mushrooms are created equal. Occasionally products labeled as mushroom sometimes contain little mushroom, made instead from mycelium fermented grain, which may not deliver that same health benefits as high potency mushroom extracts, Silver said.
There is also a concern that pet owners may think all mushrooms are beneficial for pets. Wild mushrooms pose a threat as some of these are toxic, including species such as Amanita phalloides (Death Cap Mushroom), Amanita ocreata (Angel of Death), Lepiota (False Parasol) and Galerina.
“Some wild mushrooms are liver toxic, others cause neurological issues, and even the least potentially dangerous species can cause severe signs of stomach upset,” Tina Wismer, a board-certified veterinarian and medical director of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center told PetMD.
Human mushroom consumption
As new research emerges around mushroom supplements for companion animals, the pet industry looks to people’s mushroom consumption to understand upcoming trends.
Mushrooms are particularly popular with millennials as well as Gen X and younger Gen Zers, but the core consumers are millennials, said Stacey Gillespie, director of product marketing at Charlotte’s Web.
“Most consumers have come into the mushroom category based on food products like mushroom coffee,” Gillespie said. “That is probably the number one entry point. But certainly, as consumers become more educated on mushrooms, they start to also look at mushroom supplements because they realize they may need higher potencies to feel the health benefits that they may be looking for.”
Customers also get into the category because they are experiencing pill fatigue, Gillespie added.
American interest into mushroom supplementation can be traced to more than 30 years ago.
It was the 1992 Olympics that put mushrooms in the spotlight for their ability to enhance energy and performance.
“There was a women’s Chinese running team, and they were knocking it out of the park,” said Ivori Zvorsky, senior scientist, R&D at Charlotte’s Web. “In an interview with the team, they attributed their success to taking Cordyceps sinensis. So then research skyrocketed from that.”
Research shows that species improves performance in the context of both aerobic and endurance, she said. Additionally, shiitake mushrooms demonstrate that they help with energy production and managing where energy goes, Zvorsky said.
Charlotte’s Web offers three mushroom gummies for humans made from a mushroom’s fruiting body extract. One offers stress support and is made from reishi mushrooms and with ashwaganda and rhodiola. The company’s energy gummy is formulated with cordyceps as well as shiitake.
Known for their CBD products, Charlotte’s Web has also combined lion’s mane and CBD in one gummy to support cognition.
More research needed
The benefits of high-quality functional mushrooms are huge and not just limited to immune health. Mushrooms can help with a wide variety of conditions such as allergies, anxiety, performance, GI health, cognitive support to name a few of the more popular uses in pets.
There is substantial research on lion’s mane and the different chemical compounds within it, such as polysaccharides or more specifically, beta glucans, which have beneficial effects for cognitive functioning, cognitive health and memory, as well as mood and anxiety and stress, which can also impact the ability to concentrate throughout the day, Zvorsky explained.
Although Nammex’s Silver said there is not much published research regarding functional mushrooms’ nutritional value in pets, the published data in humans can be extrapolated to the pet population.
“Mushrooms are superfoods, providing high quality protein and fiber, low carbs and low fats, and a variety of health benefits.”
