What North Spore does

North Spore is a vertically integrated mushroom cultivation company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, operating through Delaware-incorporated North Spore Holdings, Inc. The company sells spawn (grain, sawdust, plug, liquid and plate cultures), sterile substrates, ready-to-grow fruiting blocks, beginner kits (Spray & Grow, Plant & Grow), proprietary grow chambers (the patent-pending Boomr Bin monotub, BoomRoom II automated Martha tent, MushBucket, and MycoSphere outdoor system), foraging gear, and a growing functional wellness line (mushroom coffee, Lion's Mane capsules, tinctures, mushroom honey). All spawn is produced from a proprietary culture bank using USDA Certified Organic, locally sourced New England raw materials, with a dedicated QAQC team testing every batch — yielding a single-owner supply chain from culture work through finished product.

Name

North Spore

Legal name

North Spore Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://northspore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

North Spore is a Portland, Maine-based mushroom cultivation company selling USDA Organic spawn, growing kits, proprietary grow chambers, and functional wellness products to 350,000+ home growers, commercial cultivators, and wellness consumers via direct e-commerce and wholesale channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mushroom Cultivation Supplies

NAICS

Mushroom Production (111411), Food Crops Grown Under Cover (11141)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Mushroom & Fungi Production (Indoor/Protected) (AFAGAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mushroom Farming (Button, Oyster, Shiitake) (AFAGADAJ), Wild & Cultivated Mushroom Foraging and Production (AFAMAFAD), Mushroom Grading & Packing Facilities (AFAOAGAJ)

Keywords

• Mushroom cultivation supplies
• Mushroom spawn production
• Indoor grow chambers
• Organic functional mushrooms
• Home mushroom kits

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Product Sales: Primary revenue from direct-to-consumer sales through northspore.com. Products include mushroom spawn (grain, sawdust, plug), growing kits (Spray & Grow, Plant & Grow), equipment (Boomr Bin monotubs, BoomRoom tents), substrates, and cultivation supplies. One-time purchase model for most products.
2. Subscription - BlocksBox: Monthly mushroom grow kit subscription service delivering organic fruiting blocks. Explorer Box for beginners and Discovery Box for intermediate growers, delivered recurring monthly at $64.99.
3. Wholesale B2B Sales: Wholesale platform (wholesale.northspore.com) for commercial growers and retailers. Commercial mushroom spawn, substrate, and supplies sold in bulk quantities to other businesses.
4. Wellness & Culinary Products: Mushroom supplements including tinctures, capsules, functional mushroom coffee, mushroom chocolate, dried mushrooms, and mushroom teas for health-conscious consumers.
5. Professional Services: Private Mycology Consultation service offering 30-minute expert growing advice sessions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

North Spore sells mushroom cultivation supplies directly to home growers and commercial producers, including grain, sawdust, and plug spawn; ready-to-fruit kits (Spray & Grow, Plant & Grow, ShroomTek all-in-one bags); proprietary growing equipment (Boomr Bin monotub, BoomRoom II Martha tent, MycoSphere, MushBucket); sterile substrates; and a functional mushroom wellness line (coffee, capsules, tinctures, teas, honey). Production is vertically integrated from a proprietary culture bank through USDA Certified Organic spawn and substrate manufacturing, with distribution via a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, a wholesale portal, a Portland, Maine retail store, and an affiliate network.

Product overview

North Spore is a mushroom cultivation company offering a comprehensive portfolio of products for growing mushrooms both indoors and outdoors. Their product line centers on grow chambers (Boomr Bin monotubs, BoomRoom II Martha tents, MycoSphere outdoor systems, MushBucket containers), spawn and substrate products (grain spawn, sawdust spawn, plug spawn, liquid cultures, plate cultures, CVG substrate, Boomr Bag substrate), ready-to-grow kits (Spray & Grow kits, Plant & Grow garden blocks, ShroomTek all-in-one bags, fruiting blocks, The BlocksBox subscription), and wellness products (mushroom coffee, capsules, tinctures, teas, Earth Nectar). They also offer foraging gear, field guides, and inoculation tools. The company emphasizes USDA certified organic products, expert grow support, and educational resources including video guides and The Black Trumpet blog. North Spore serves over 350,000 customers ranging from beginners to commercial growers, with a focus on making mushroom cultivation accessible through vertically integrated production from culture work to spawn and substrate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Boomr Bin: Patent-pending monotub mushroom growing system designed by mycologists for indoor cultivation with automated or manual humidity and air exchange options.
• BoomRoom
• ShroomTek
• MushBucket
• MycoSphere
• BlocksBox

Products and services

• Boomr Bin Mushroom Monotub Patent-pending indoor monotub for mushroom cultivation designed by North Spore mycologists; food-grade FDA-approved materials; supports manual or automated humidity and air-exchange; holds up to 25 lb of substrate. Targets beginner and intermediate indoor cultivators.
• BoomRoom II Automated Martha Tent Fully automated mushroom grow chamber providing environmental control for humidity and fresh-air exchange across five shelves holding 20 lb each (100 lb total). Reinforced plastic, double-stitched seams, and a diffused-light tent. Targets intermediate-to-advanced indoor growers.
• MushBucket Mushroom Grow Kit Container-based mushroom grow kit for producing hearty oyster mushrooms and other fast-fruiting varieties with minimal space and effort. Suits beginners and small-space growers.
• Plant & Grow Mushroom Starter Blocks Mushroom transplants designed to be planted directly in outdoor garden beds and harvested in as little as a few weeks. Available in 10+ species. For home gardeners and permaculture practitioners.
• ShroomTek All-In-One Mushroom Grow Bag Self-contained all-in-one mushroom grow bag with injection port for indoor cultivation, sold under the ShroomTek sub-brand. Designed for beginners seeking a sterile, ready-to-use setup.
• Wine Cap Garden Bed Kit Complete outdoor mushroom bed kit including 5 lb of Wine Cap (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) sawdust spawn and a pre-shredded straw bale. Suits home gardeners and permaculture growers; can fruit in as little as two months and produce for several years.
• Mushroom Log Growing Supplies Equipment and supplies for growing shiitake and other gourmet mushrooms on logs, stumps, or pillars, including log grow kits, plug spawn, sawdust spawn, and inoculation tools. For intermediate-to-advanced outdoor growers.
• Mushroom Foraging Gear & Tools Field guides, identification books, harvest knives (Opinel), waxed canvas foraging bags, and other accessories for mushroom foraging. Targets hobbyist foragers.
• The BlocksBox Monthly Mushroom Kit Subscription Monthly subscription delivering organic mushroom fruiting blocks to home growers. Explorer Box for beginners; Discovery Box for intermediate growers. $64.99 per month.
• MycoSphere Outdoor Mushroom Growing System Controlled outdoor garden-bed system with automated misting for consistent mushroom growing across habitats and climates. Priced at $399. For gardeners seeking purpose-built outdoor cultivation hardware.
• Spray & Grow Mushroom Kits Beginner-ready organic mushroom growing kits for indoor cultivation; available across multiple species including Blue Oyster, Lion's Mane, and Pink Oyster. Designed for first-time growers seeking immediate results.
• Functional-5 Mushroom Coffee Functional mushroom coffee combining traditional coffee with medicinal mushroom extracts for wellness benefits. Targeted at health-conscious daily consumers.
• Organic Lion's Mane Mushroom Capsules Organic Lion's Mane mushroom supplement capsules sold in 120-count bottles for cognitive and general wellness support ($49.99). Targets health-conscious consumers.
• Mind & Body Mushroom Tincture Variety Pack Medicinal mushroom tincture variety pack designed for daily wellness applications. Targeted at health-conscious consumers seeking functional mushroom tinctures.
• Earth Nectar Mushroom Honey Mushroom-infused honey product combining functional mushrooms with honey. Targeted at wellness and gourmet-food consumers.
• Boomr Bag Manure-Based Sterile Substrate Manure-based sterile substrate formulated for dung-loving mushroom species. Sold in 5 lb bags or 8-pack bundles ($28.99 / 5 lb).
• CVG Substrate (Coco Vermiculite Gypsum) Classic sterile bulk substrate blend of coco coir, vermiculite, and gypsum marketed as the best substrate for beginners.
• Organic Sterilized Grain Bags with Injection Port Organic sterilized grain bags with injection port for grain spawn cultivation. Available as single 3 lb bags or 8-pack bundles.
• Private Mycology Consultation 30-minute paid expert mycology consultation offering one-on-one growing advice from North Spore's staff mycologists. Targets advanced cultivators needing tailored troubleshooting.

Quantifiable outcome

• Harvest in as little as a few weeks with Plant & Grow blocks
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Coherent Market InsightsminorOthersNorth Spore was mentioned as a key player in the Hericium Polysaccharide market report published by Coherent Market Insights. This appears in competitive landscape analysis for the functional mushroom supplement market rather than a formal partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Smallhold: Indoor, distributed mushroom farm operator selling fresh specialty mushrooms to grocers and restaurants across the US. Adjacent rather than directly competing — Smallhold is the buyer of bulk spawn/supplies that North Spore's wholesale channel serves, and both share the mission of democratizing mushroom production.
• Mycelia (Mycelium) by Ecovative: Ecovative is a larger, venture-backed mycelium platform using mushroom technology for packaging, materials, and meat alternatives (MyBacon, Atlast). While not a direct spawn competitor, it is a broad incumbent in mushroom-based product innovation and competes for talent and mindshare in the mycology space.

Direct peers

• Fungi Perfecti: Founded by Paul Stamets, Fungi Perfecti is the most iconic direct peer — selling mushroom cultures, spawn, supplements (Host Defense line), and grow kits to home cultivators and wellness consumers. Highly comparable product mix, customer base, and content-led GTM.
• Mushroom Mountain: Family-run mycology supplier offering spawn, cultures, grow kits, and cultivation supplies across gourmet and medicinal species. Comparable product catalog and small-batch organic positioning to North Spore.
• North Spore competitor — Root Mushroom Farm: Pennsylvania-based mushroom farm selling fresh mushrooms, grow kits, and spawn to home cultivators. Comparable DTC model and beginner-kit focus, with stronger fresh-mushroom retail presence versus North Spore's supply-focused mix.
• Midwest Grow Kits: Direct-to-consumer mushroom grow kit and spawn retailer, focused on gourmet and medicinal varieties. Competes head-to-head with North Spore on Spray & Grow style beginner kits and plug spawn, primarily via Shopify DTC.

Emerging players

• Four Sigmatic: Fast-growing functional-mushroom wellness brand selling mushroom coffee, elixirs, and supplements through DTC and retail. Direct competitor to North Spore's wellness/capsules/coffee SKUs and a benchmark for where a content-driven mushroom brand can scale.
• Real Mushrooms: Functional mushroom supplement company focused on pure, organic extracts (Lion's Mane, Reishi, Cordyceps). Direct overlap with North Spore's capsules and tincture line, with stronger supplement-specific certification and retail presence.
• GroCycle: Mushroom cultivation education and supplies business selling grow kits and online courses globally. Comparable content-led model and beginner customer focus, though with a heavier emphasis on courses than hardware.

Regional players

• Small Axe Mushrooms: Brooklyn-based mushroom farm and spawn/cultivation supplier serving Northeast US hobbyists and commercial growers. Comparable product mix in spawn and blocks, regional overlap with North Spore's Maine-based distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/northspore
• Xx.com/northspore
• Facebookfacebook.com/northspore

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Spore