Grow New Zealand Mushrooms
Mushroom Mate is a small family business based here in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and it all started with a simple school project. We were experimenting with growing oyster mushrooms using reusable and recyclable materials, and honestly, we were amazed at how easy it was. Seeing fresh mushrooms grow right in front of us felt pretty special, and we’ve been hooked ever since.
What started as a fun family project soon turned into something we wanted to share with others. We created our grow-your-own mushroom kits so kiwi families, schools, and communities could experience the same thing — the excitement of growing your own food and learning just how incredible mushrooms really are. There’s nothing quite like harvesting your first crop at home.
As our love for mushrooms grew, we naturally started experimenting in the kitchen too. Our artisan Mushroom XO Spread — inspired by Filipino flavours — and our Forager’s Mushroom Salts, made with freeze-dried mushrooms, are easy ways to add a rich, savoury boost to your everyday cooking.
Mushroom Mate is all about family, learning together, and sharing what we love. We’re proud to create products that help people grow their own, enjoy real flavour, and feel more connected to their food.
Thanks for being here and supporting our small Kiwi family business.Â
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What we Cultivate
Here in Aotearoa, we’re lucky to have some pretty special edible mushrooms that are unique to New Zealand. Some are endemic, which means they’re only found here and nowhere else in the world. Others are native, meaning they’ve naturally made their way here over time without human help and are now part of our natural environment.
These are the varieties we’ve learnt to grow and care for:
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Oyster mushrooms – Pleurotus parsonsiae (Endemic) and Pleurotus pulmonarius (Native)
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NZ Lion’s Mane – Pekepeke-Kiore (Native), also known as Coral Tooth
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NZ Shiitake – Lentinula novae-zealandiae (Endemic)
These mushrooms are closely related to imported species, and introducing non-local genetics can risk crossbreeding over time. That could mean losing the unique characteristics of our own endemic mushrooms, which have developed here naturally over generations.
For us, growing and sharing these local varieties is about more than just food. It’s about helping protect what makes New Zealand special. By choosing locally sourced and cultivated mushrooms, you’re supporting our native ecology and helping preserve these incredible species for future generations.Â
It’s our small way of caring for the land and sharing something uniquely ours.
