Troop was created by cousins Jake Mellman and Stephanie Moyal, who found themselves cohabiting during the start of the COVID pandemic. Stephanie and Jake had spent the first 3 weeks of lockdown binging reality TV shows when they decided to watch a documentary called Fantastic Fungi, which highlighted the medical and environmental benefits of mushrooms. Both Jake and Stephanie had noticed a growing interest in mushrooms within the health and wellness industry, but upon doing some more research, they discovered that not many people were talking about or aware of this superfood. After trying their hand at growing some lion’s mane mushrooms in Jake’s own closet, the cousins — finding themselves with extra time — began thinking of a way to share the incredible benefits of mushrooms with everyone.

Jake and Stephanie knew that gummies would be a fun and approachable vehicle for mushroom delivery, so they started out by making homemade mushroom-infused gummies but failed miserably. Realizing that they needed professional support, they tapped integrative health expert Robin Miller, confectionary chemist Manny Katz, and mycologist Jason Scott to develop their first line of mushroom gummies. Together, the team sourced mushrooms from small farms in Oregon and harvested from forests in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Washington. They launched the gummies under the name “Troop” in reference to a group of mushrooms that grows together. Today, the Troop team is on a mission to demystify mushrooms, making them more accessible and appealing to the everyday user.