COMMON eyes up potential of mushroom drinks in UK functional drinks market

COMMON was founded by Julian Liban, who developed a keen interest in natural medicines while studying Cellular & Molecular Medicine at Bristol University. 

The brand launched in 2020 with a CBD water. It’s now expanding with a mushroom range, featuring two Lion’s Mane mushroom-based nootropic drinks, designed for enhanced mental performance.

Caffeine-free energy

Each has a 500mg dose of Lion’s Mane along with Chaga mushroom and a Vitamin B Complex.

The aim of the drinks, Liban told us, is to create a wave of energy akin to the caffeinated power of coffee – but without the jitters and energy spike and dip.

“Our drink will not 'hit' you like a caffeinated coffee and we are not trying to replicate the dose of an energy drink,” he explained. “Energy drinks are typically packed full of nasty stimulating ingredients that raise your heart rate, something that coffee does too. Our Nootropic drink delivers increased mental performance and we focus on brain power. You will not feel a buzz of energy or increased heart rate but should feel mental clarity - some customers have referred to it like the limitless pill from the film Limitless!”

While mushrooms are increasingly found in launches in the US, the category has been slower to take off in the UK. But Liban believes its time is coming – and the interest of its investors proves it. 

The investors in the latest seed round are big names in the British F&B category: and include James Watt (BrewDog co-founder); Neel Nagrecha (Rubicon Drinks family and managing director), Ryan Kohn (Proper Snacks co-founder) and Alex Carlton (Funkin’ Cocktails and Strykk Drinks founder).

“The new mushroom range is incredibly exciting and has huge potential," said Liban. "The category has already taken off but in a different format - mushroom powders and not RTDs - so RTDs are the natural next category of growth.

"The popularity of mushroom powders in the UK has exploded in the past 24 months, with big US players now entering the UK market.

"In the US, the mushroom powder and RTD market is showing fantastic sustained growth, something that we are convinced will be replicated in the UK. Mushrooms are a brilliant ingredient  - packed full of health benefits and sustainable to grow. COMMON Nootropic is the highest-quality mushroom based RTD on the UK market and, in the short time since launch, has shown huge popularity.”

CBD switch

COMMON was one of the earliest CBD brands in the UK market and features on the UK’s novel foods list. But it’s recently switched to CBD sourced from cold-pressed hemp (non-novel) as this allows it more freedom to innovate than under novel foods.

The new CBD range focuses on flavour with two new SKUs (Lime & Mint and Pink Grapefruit) and better ingredients (now free from preservatives).

“Most CBD extracts used in RTDs are extracted via CO2 extraction which is a novel process under Novel Foods," explained Liban.

"Cold-pressing hemp as a food technique has been around for centuries and it is a far cleaner method. Using CBD from cold-pressed hemp allows us to innovate, something that the UK consumer has been asking for - new flavours, better ingredients, and different formats. CBD from cold-pressed hemp is becoming more and more popular in new products, we just happen to be one of the first RTDs to make the leap.”

The UK's CBD market was shaken last year by the FSA's new recommendations that consumers should limit CBD consumption from food to 10mg a day. But like many other CBD brands on the market - including TRIP and Good Rays - COMMON remains confident in its dosage and has maintained 20mg in its reformulated version.

"Whilst we respect the FSA's guidance on CBD consumption and label all our products accordingly, we believe that 20mg of CBD per drink is the perfect effective dose," said Liban.

"It is also a 'safe' dosage at 20mg - bear in mind the NHS prescribes CBD in 300mg dosages for reducing anxiety attacks and chronic pain.

"When deciding the dosage for the new range we consulted with our retail relationships and customers who all echoed they wanted a dosage around 20mg as at a dosage any less the associated benefits were muted."

Science meets finance

Having studied cellular and molecular medicine, Liban was always interested in natural medicines. The wave of research and NPD coming out of the US in 2018 convinced Liban that this was to be a huge future wave in personal health.

And when he saw the first CBD drinks appear on UK shelves he did not feel they were focused on medicinal benefits while failing to use good quality ingredients (falling back on artificial flavourings, sugars and sweeteners).

But adding ten years experience investing in private companies to a science background has proven to be a winning combination – ‘this is extremely useful when now sat on the other side of the table!” 

So what's the key to getting such big name investors on board?

“Persistence and pitching!” says Liban. He used industry events as an opportunity to network and meet potential investors and then let his product do the talking: with investors interested in the brand’s presentation, branding and taste.

Then it was about explaining the opportunity and his vision. “Once they had learnt about the market opportunity and our vision and had seen what we had built with limited resources, they were keen to back us. We have a focus on delivering functional drinks that are actually​ functional and healthy – something that is lacking in the market at the moment.”