Lifeway Foods, the leading US supplier of kefir and fermented probiotic products is making a play for the Mood & Mind opportunity, announcing a new line of adaptogenic mushroom-based oat beverages.

The Lifeway MSHRM Oat range is the latest addition to its portfolio of cultured oat beverages and contains 10 live and active probiotic cultures plus heart-healthy beta-glucans. The new product line features a variety of mushrooms and adaptogens sold in 3.5oz/100ml bottles, and will be offered in three varieties:

• Calm: Reishi and Vanilla Flavor – to decrease stress and anxiety and to boost mood with 200mg of nutrient-rich adaptogenic Reishi per bottle.

• Support: Mushroom Immune Blend with Aronia – with a 500mg-blend of adaptogenic mushrooms and 200mg of aronia berry for powerful immune support.

• Focus: Lion's Mane Golden Milk with L-Theanine from Green Tea – offers 200mg of stress-reducing adaptogens in Lion's Mane mushroom, 100mg of L-Theanine, and turmeric and ginger to relax and boost people’s mood.

The adaptogenic line comes on the heels of Lifeway’s revived sales growth. The brand, which pioneered kefir in the US in the 1980s, peaked at $124m (€109m) in 2016, and several years of decline followed. Efforts to breathe life back into the brand finally bore fruit in 2020, when sales picked up. Vital to this rebound was a pivot in marketing strategy toward communicating more about kefir’s benefits beyond digestive wellness.

Mood & Mind is one of the 10 Key Trends in the food and beverage industry, with more than a fifth of consumers eating to boost their mood and mental wellbeing. Want to know more about this trend and how to connect to it? Read our best-selling 10 Key Trends 2022 report!