Customers have been asking Fettle to launch functional mushrooms for years. Founder Taylor kept saying no. Now, after years of using mushrooms himself, introducing them into his own dog’s routine and taking the time to understand the research, Fettle has launched three organic mushroom tinctures for dogs: Turkey Tail, Reishi and Lion’s Mane.

Functional mushrooms have become increasingly popular in human wellness, and it wasn't long before interest moved into the pet world too.

For Taylor, that was a reason to wait.

“Customers had been asking for years. I kept saying not yet, not because I didn’t rate mushrooms, but because the whole industry decided mushrooms were having a moment, and I wasn’t going to slap a trending ingredient on a bottle because the timing was good for everyone else.”

What most customers didn't know was that Taylor had already been taking functional mushrooms himself for around eight years.

His interest eventually extended to his own dog, Digby, a ten-year-old Flat-Coated Retriever. Turkey Tail has been part of Digby’s nutritional routine alongside milk thistle, following an approach Taylor learned about through canine herbalist Rita Hogan.

“I was already interested in mushrooms and had been using them myself for years,” says Taylor. “But personal experience isn't enough reason to launch a product. I needed to understand more about the research and why these particular mushrooms were attracting so much attention.”

“I started looking at mushrooms very differently. They weren't different versions of the same thing. Each one had been researched in quite different areas, and that was the point where the range started to make sense.”

Why these three mushrooms?

Although functional mushrooms are often grouped together, each has a different composition and has attracted interest for different reasons.

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) has attracted research interest in areas including immune biology, the gut microbiome and gut-immune interactions.

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) has been investigated in research exploring immune biology, inflammatory and oxidative processes, and physiological responses associated with stress.

Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) has attracted particular interest in neuroscience, where researchers have investigated its compounds in relation to neurotrophic signalling, neuronal biology, cognition, memory and ageing.

“The more I learned, the less sense it made to talk about mushrooms as though they were all doing the same thing,” says Taylor.

“That was what I needed to understand before I felt comfortable putting them into the Fettle range.”

What’s actually in the bottle?

Choosing the mushrooms was only part of the process. Fettle also wanted to keep the formulations simple.

The new range uses organic mushroom fruiting bodies, which are hot-water extracted at a 1:4 ratio. Each tincture contains the respective mushroom extract alongside water and organic glycerin.

All three products are Soil Association certified organic.

For Taylor, the launch is about reaching the point where there was enough understanding behind the products to put the Fettle name on them.

“There is still plenty we don't know, particularly when it comes to dogs, and I think we should be open about that. Research can give us an understanding of why an ingredient is interesting without giving us permission to promise it can do everything.  We're not interested in making those sorts of promises. I wanted to understand why these mushrooms were being studied, what made each one different and why we were choosing them.”

Fettle’s new Turkey Tail Mushroom Tincture, Reishi Mushroom Tincture and Lion’s Mane Mushroom Tincture are available now, priced at £38.99 for 50 ml.