S8 Ep27: When Mushroom Magic Meets Chocolate Bliss with Maria Paula Garces
“If you always knew, you may think twice. But then you approach it with audacity.” —Maria Paula Garces
Mushrooms are nature's secret superfoods, quietly working behind the scenes to nourish both humans and Earth's ecosystems alike. Combined with the indulging flavor of cacao, these mushroom morsels form the newest way to nourish both taste buds and total wellness.
Founded by Maria Paula Garces, Fungible Chocolates creates chocolate bars infused with single strains of functional mushrooms to provide targeted health benefits like focus, immunity, and relaxation. They aim to educate consumers on the untapped wellness potential of mushrooms through clean, simple products.
Listen in as Justine and Maria share the benefits of using single-mushroom extracts versus blends in functional mushroom chocolates, the challenges of starting a business related to fungi, the importance of finding a product that aligns with one's values and enjoying the process of creating something material from an idea, and the value of building a strong foundation for a successful business through diverse advisory boards and consistent networking events.
Connect with Maria:
Maria Paula Garces is the founder and CEO of Fungible Chocolates, a functional mushroom chocolate company based in California. She has over 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur, having launched 10 startups in various industries including health foods and organic clothing.
Prior to founding Fungible Chocolates, Maria worked as a marketing manager in the biotech industry. Maria takes a lean, self-funded approach to building her businesses and has raised a small round of investment. She is focused on researching new mushroom extracts and expanding Fungible Chocolate's product line while maintaining simplicity and accessibility.
When she's not running her company, Maria enjoys networking in the startup community to build her knowledge and advisory network.
Episode Highlights:
03:32 A Dive Into Functional Mushrooms and Chocolate
10:12 Mushroom Benefits and Their Role in Agriculture
16:46 Funding and Growth with a Lean Perspective
21:07 Building a Strong Advisory Board
Tweets:
Nature's real superfoods are hiding out in your pantry. Join @jreichman and Fungible Chocolates Founder, Maria Paula Garces share how these mushroom chocolates are redefining what it means to “treat yourself”! #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #Season8 #FungibleChocolates #mushroomchocolates #superfoods #functionalfoods #femalefounder
Inspirational Quotes:
02:57 “Everything is on me— the person doing everything initially.” —Maria Paula Garces
04:59 “You have to be ready and committed to be ready to face anything and to keep pushing forward.” —Maria Paula Garces
06:39 “As you're building this company, you're looking at competitors.” —Justine Reichman
12:39 “There's a lot of compounds that we don't even know yet to even look for, to even test for, but that is really beneficial.” —Maria Paula Garces
13:40 “It's a whole new world integrating [mushrooms] into the future.” —Justine Reichman
14:45 “Education for the community is important so that they better understand why and what they're consuming.” —Justine Reichman
17:57 “If you always knew, you may think twice. But then you approach it with audacity.” —Maria Paula Garces
19:59 “Having that [lean] perspective has been helpful because it has ensured that we take our time when it comes to growth so we don't take more on than we can handle.” —Maria Paula Garces
21:34 “Everyone wants to be their own boss, everyone wants that kind of freedom. But it's a whole lifestyle that you start to commit to. It's going to take a lot out of you. You got to be very deeply passionate about it or you're not going to keep going, because it will get hard.” —Maria Paula Garces
23:11 “We don't all have the expertise, all the different facets of a business. So it's important to cultivate a group of people that can best support you.” —Justine Reichman
Transcriptions:
Justine Reichman: Good morning, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine Reichman. With me today is Maria Paula Garces from Fungible Chocolates.
Welcome, Maria.
Maria Paula Garces: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Justine Reichman: Oh, it's my pleasure. I'm excited to learn about Fungible Chocolates, learn about your journey and equally share the information with our community. So for those that are not familiar with Fungible Chocolates, and you in particular, would you just introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do?
Maria Paula Garces: So I'm Maria, and I'm the founder of Fungible Chocolates. And basically, we're a functional mushroom chocolate infused company. So we make chocolate bars that are infused with different functional mushrooms and have different health benefits. So we have a lion's mane for focus, turkey tail for immunity, cordyceps for energy, reishi for relaxation, and Chaga for vitality.
Justine Reichman: Wow, it's a whole new market out there with Fungible Chocolates. And it's a really exciting market. So as we get into this conversation, I'd love to dig a little deeper into it to better understand a little bit more about it. But first, what piqued your interest in Fungible Chocolates?
Maria Paula Garces: I've always been very fascinated by mushrooms, and I've always been into healthy foods. So I remember, I had recently watched the fantastic fungi documentary on Netflix, which is amazing. And it just kind of reignited that passion for mushrooms. And so I kept thinking, what can I do to work with them? So I thought, okay, maybe I can set up like a local growing facility in my city, or we can do extracts and just just kind of like being in that headspace. And then one day, I remember I was eating dark chocolate, because I love dark chocolate, and I'm always eating it every single day. And it just came to me like, oh, my goodness, I could infuse functional mushrooms into dark chocolate to make it like a healthy chocolate bar. So that's kind of how it came together.
Justine Reichman: And what were you doing before this?
Maria Paula Garces: I was working at a biotech company as a marketing manager.
Justine Reichman: Okay, so this is your first journey as an entrepreneur, your first company. What was that like going from having a steady job paycheck to now launching your own business? Your idea?
Maria Paula Garces: Actually, this is the tenth company that I have launched. I have had more traditional jobs in between, but I've always been into entrepreneurship. And so I felt like a very natural transition to finally kind of doing my thing, and definitely the lack of stability was different. But also, I come from a startup environment. So I've only ever worked at companies that were startups, which by definition is already unstable, got lots of things, lots of hats. That's just how it is. So then for me, it was not such a difficult transition. I think it was more realizing that everything is on me, as the person doing everything initially.
Justine Reichman: So you said you had 10 startups, that's a lot of startups. Can you talk to me a little bit about that journey and what it looked like for you?
Maria Paula Garces: Sure. So I've pretty much, I don't know why. But every time I've had some kind of idea or interest, I've pursued it. I do notice that there's been another health food one, actually two health food ones. So the very first one was just called Divergent Paths company, which is the name of the parent company now. And that was a moringa tea beverage company. And so that was something that I started while in college in Canada. And then I dropped out of school, I decided to move back to the US and kind of do the business here. But things were a little different so I wasn't able to keep going forward with that. So then I was like, okay, let's work with growing Moringa. So there's just very many different facets. There's also an organic clothing line that makes polos for men called the Bossman Polo. There's just all kinds of things, many categories, but I do notice that the one that I enjoyed the most was like products.
Justine Reichman: So what happened to those startups that you had to think about?
Maria Paula Garces: I lost interest.
Justine Reichman: You lost interest. Why is this different?
Maria Paula Garces: There's just something about it that really kept me going. A lot of people think it's the first one. You got lucky, you're not doing this. But it's a process of truly finding, okay, am I ready to be married to this idea? Am I ready to give it my all? Am I ready to make it my life? I remember then, I was a lot younger and I didn't have as much experience as I do now. And so it's just kind of like, oh, it's a cool idea. Let me put it together. Oh, it's kind of working. Do I see myself doing this? Not really. Or maybe I encountered a big obstacle that I just didn't have the passion to resolve because you really have to be like it and committed to be ready to face anything and to keep pushing forward.
Justine Reichman: What is the biggest lesson that you learned with these 10 startups that now you think this one is the one, this one's going to keep your attention, this one can scale, this one can make money.
Maria Paula Garces: I finally feel very much aligned. I have all the tools that I need to keep going with this company. So before I remember one of the things that got in my way was, okay, it's something that's aligned with my values. It might be a great business idea. But is it truly aligned with my values, with my lifestyle, and how I want to help direct the world through creating a company. That's kind of what kept me from the other ones. But with this one, I know that mushrooms are incredible. I know that they have so much untapped potential. I know that you don't even really scratch the surface of how powerful these mushrooms can be. Not only for our health, but also for the environment, and the role they could play in cleaning up pollution. Just really, really powerful, very timely, important things. And so that really drives me. And then also, I really enjoy the CPG aspect of it. I really like the idea of thinking that I created something, I envisioned it in my mind, made it material. Now it's in stores, and now it's sitting on someone's desk, or it's sitting on someone's table at home, or in someone's bag. It's a very cool, very fulfilling concept for me.
Justine Reichman: So as you're building this company, you're looking at competitors, how do you see yourself differentiated from the other competitors in space?
Maria Paula Garces: The other competitors focus mainly on blends of mushrooms. So they have a mixture of like the lion's mane, Turkey Tail, Reishi, Chaga, like the top mushrooms all in one. While we focus on single mushroom chocolate bars. So we want just the specific benefits of each individual mushroom for the chocolate bars. And we are the only company that's doing that. So then we have our five flavors that feature the five different mushrooms. The top five different mushrooms that have different specific benefits instead of being a blend. We are really transparent where the mushrooms are coming from. So it's a fruiting body extract, which right now is currently the standard. So we know that, again, not enough research has been done about this. But I believe there could be a switch to full spectrum extracts being considered more of the standard because they're not just focused on the fruiting body, but also implementing some of the beneficial compounds in the mycelium. So that's something that we're exploring too. But along with our competitive edge, we're small and we're nimble. And so what I want to do is always create something that's at the forefront, and that can become the standard of functional mushroom chocolates. And so that involves looking at new developments within the industry like extraction methods.
“As you're building this company, you're looking at competitors.” —Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: Thank you for sharing that. I just wanted to go back to a couple things you said. One, as you call it, a functional mushroom. And for those that are not familiar with that term, could you just explain what that means?
Maria Paula Garces: Sure. So we have edible or culinary mushrooms, which are the ones that you would have at home, you would eat at a restaurant. Then you have psychedelic mushrooms, which are the ones that would quote unquote make you trip or that are used for therapeutic purposes. And then functional mushrooms are a category of mushrooms that are considered medicines because they have different proven health benefits. And so those are the ones that we use in our recipes.
Justine Reichman: And so when I look at yours, and we look at other organisations that put together maybe all five mushrooms in one recipe versus you, what is the impact, you can see from yours versus these other alternatives?
Maria Paula Garces: The other ones don't really specifically list X amount of this one, X amount of that one. It's just like 500 milligrammes, 1000 milligrammes. I wanted to create something that had impactful mushroom benefits of that specific mushroom, instead of it being little pieces of each one.
Justine Reichman: Is there an impact that you can share that you've gotten responses from customers that you could attribute to being a single source mushroom versus a five source mushroom source of different mushroom?
Maria Paula Garces: Basically, the blends that we have have specific functions. We have a lion's mane for focus. And actually, when we started the company, it was just functional mushroom chocolate. We didn't say For Focus, we didn't say for this or that. It all started coming back when people were like, oh, I take this and I feel really focused. I feel really good. So it kind of came from that. Because we are using the single mushroom extracts, we were able to deliver the specific benefits of those mushrooms, instead of little bits of the mushrooms that create a different kind of effect. So you will still typically feel it with the other blends, but it will just be different. So for example, with the lion's mane, that's one that is felt. The cordyceps one is felt, and the reishi one is felt. But then chaga and turkey tail are more passive. So it's not something that you take and then 15 minutes later, you feel any kind of effects like with the other ones. So because it is just that single mushroom, if you take the cordyceps one, it's like a full good dose that you can use to replace a pre workout. For the lion's mane, you can sit down at the computer and do work for extended periods of time. Or with the reishi, you can relax. If it's a blend, it sort of cancels some of them out. You have reishi for relaxation that tends to chill out the nervous system, but then you have cordyceps, a lion's mane that stimulates the system.
Justine Reichman: So it becomes an equilibrium as opposed to having the relaxation or the additional energy. Okay, interesting. So have you heard of companies like Alice, etcetera. And so what's your take on that?
Maria Paula Garces: With Alice, I think their branding is beautiful. I do think we have a different target. So there's this very beautiful, cool, expensive, trendy kind of vibe. And with our price point and with our focus on it just being more clean, simple, not so embellished, that's what I wanted to capture. That clean simplicity, literally making it accessible, and making it accessible, exactly, making it more accessible instead of like a status of some sorts. So then you just have the cacao, the mushrooms and the coconut sugar, very simple, clean to the point ingredients instead of a blend of other things.
Justine Reichman: This is a new market for people. They're really creating and innovating in space. What's the most revolutionary thing that you're seeing within that space today?
“It's a whole new world integrating [mushrooms] into the future.” —Justine Reichman
Maria Paula Garces: So what I'm really excited about, and then I'm excited that we have the opportunity to participate in is really the work and the research that's being done around extracts. We're realizing that there's a lot of compounds that we don't even know yet to even look for, to even test for, but that are really beneficial. And so I'm particularly excited about the research that's going to come in that respect. And as we're researching, working with new suppliers and also getting, like I've mentioned before, a full spectrum extract versus something that's just a fruiting body or just mycelium. And to me, there's just something magical and mysterious about mushrooms in the world of mushrooms. And I feel like they have a certain vibe. It kind of goes into the spiritual energetic aspect of things, but there's just something about them that is really fascinating. And I think that the more people that step into that, the more we're gonna see changes in society in terms of how we implement mushrooms. Not just for our health, but also what we do with them in the environment.
Justine Reichman: I think that's really exciting. It's a whole new world integrating that into the future. So as you're building this, and you have these five mushrooms that you're working with, are you looking to expand your skews and potentially create new products around mushrooms?
Maria Paula Garces: Yes, yes, absolutely. So we do have a few other products planned. We're not ready to release them yet. But definitely, products surrounding mushrooms and chocolate because we've noticed that it's just such a nice vehicle for delivery. So chocolate is a vasodilator. And it also has a little bit of caffeine so it can act as a way to increase absorption of nutrients. So then combined with the mushrooms, it's just such a nice combination. And also sometimes, some of these extracts tend to not have the best flavors. It can be very bitter or strange. And so the chocolate, the dark chocolate is a great way to basically consume them.
Justine Reichman: There's so much going on in the space you're building these great products. And I think education for the community is really important so that they better understand why and what they're consuming. So I'm curious to hear from you what the one thing is that you've or maybe two things are that people just don't know or realize, or maybe even misunderstand about mushrooms, and the impact they can have.
Maria Paula Garces: I love when I'm telling people about mushrooms. Because initially, I assumed that everyone knows functional mushrooms. But then I realized, wait, people actually don't. So that's the first part of life, this is exciting. But a lot of people don't know that mushrooms already play a vital role in agriculture, and a vital role in the way that plants and foods that are being grown share nutrients, and basically establish an equilibrium in the soils. People tend to be like, oh, I had no idea that mushrooms played that role. So I think that's one that gets a lot of likes, wow, that's a good one.
Justine Reichman: I think that's very interesting. And it's something that I would have known myself.
Maria Paula Garces: Yeah. And without them, agriculture would be compromised.
Justine Reichman: What is that impact? What would we see if they didn't have them? What would be different?
Maria Paula Garces: So basically, the plants wouldn't be able to get the nutrients that they would need. Because of the main role of mycelium, it acts like a highway to move nutrients and reach equilibrium. And then it works symbiotically with plants to also take the things that they don't want, and then give the plants the things that they're lacking or that they need. So basically, it's a whole symbiotic relationship that would then be compromised if we didn't have these fungi that are basically working 24/7 to ensure that there's that homeostasis, and that different plants do get the nutrients that they need, and that they get what they need in return. So it's a win-win situation.
Justine Reichman: I think that's important. And I think understanding that is integral for people. Because the more that they understand the benefits, the impact both on their health, wellness, and more globally, it allows them to make better decisions. So I really appreciate you sharing that. I want to go back to you as an entrepreneur. You've done all these different things. And when you started them, it sounds like they were initially passion projects. Correct me if I'm wrong, they were originally things that you felt were like a void in the market, or you were really interested about but lost interest, because maybe they weren't the right fit. That being said, when anyone starts a startup and they're trying to scale and build, they're thinking about what it costs and how to do all that, whether it's self funded or going to raise money. So I'd love to hear what your thoughts are as you were starting all these companies, the first ones, and today. How you've done it differently.
Maria Paula Garces: First off, it's a lot harder than people think. It turned out to be a lot harder than I ever imagined. But there's kind of some beauty in that if you always knew you may think twice, but then you kind of approach it with an adaptability to be like, I can do this. It's this kind of grand thing. And then you're like, oh, I'm actually doing this, or actually doing this a lot harder than I thought. And so it's kind of like a checking process. But what I like about it is that it's always pushing some kind of boundary.
Justine Reichman: So going back to funding, because I know that that's a big question on founders' minds, or maybe even an obstacle for many people when they come up with an idea,how am I going to pay for this? How am I going to build this? How am I going to scale this? We all have different skill sets, and some people just make it happen. And they're very scrappy, they do it from their heart and they build it. Other people have to start with a business plan, and how they're going to move forward. If we look back on your journey, what did it look like back then, and what does it look like today when you started your company now?
“Having that [lean] perspective has been helpful because it has ensured that we take our time when it comes to growth so we don't take more on than we can handle.” —Maria Paula Garces
Maria Paula Garces: So I've always been a very rational and logical person. So whatever I explored, it was something like my parents taught me, build an Excel. Start seeing how things are going to look, how is this actually going to work as a viable solution? So I would approach it that way. But I also didn't realize how many things you actually had to account for. So whether I lost interest, or I just wasn't prepared, or if it was a straight up bad idea of some kind of thing got in the way, I think the difference is that with more life experience and everything, I can see that although there's going to be things that are difficult, I do trust myself to figure it out. I've also had a very lean perspective when it comes to business. I always think about how I can do as much as I can, myself or self-funded before I go raise money or I need X amount to achieve what I need to do. I think having added perspective has been really helpful, because it has ensured that we take our time when it comes to growth so we don't take more on than we can handle. It also allows you to establish like a solid foundation for anything going forward because you've been at this level for a while, instead of just focusing on the next, next, next, next without realizing that maybe some parts here weren't very stable and could crash at any moment. And so it's a confidence thing. We're like, okay, we've been here, we understand what it feels like to be here, we're now ready for the next step, and the next step, and the next step. So I'd say in terms of mindset, that's been the most impactful lean approach that I've had towards business.
Justine Reichman: Have you always been self funded?
Maria Paula Garces: Yes. So it's been self funded. I did start raising funds at the end of last year, and I have received some investment. However, we started having issues with our manufacturer. So then I decided, okay, I want to set myself up for success. I'm going to put this on pause, we're going to resolve the issues we're having with our manufacturer, and then pick this back up when we're again ready to go.
Justine Reichman: I think that that makes sense. That's a reasonable solution. So are there any tips that you might give new founders, as they're starting their business? Things that you did wrong maybe that you might, or lessons you might have learned that now had you known you might do differently?
“You have to be ready and committed to be ready to face anything and to keep pushing forward.” —Maria Paula Garces
Maria Paula Garces: There's this sort of idea around entrepreneurship nowadays that everyone wants to be their own boss, everyone wants that kind of freedom. But really, it's a whole lifestyle that you start to commit to. And I think a lot of people don't realize that it's going to take a lot out of you, it's going to become something that truly is on your mind. And that as cliche as it sounds, you really have to be very deeply passionate about it, or you're not going to keep going because it will get hard. There will be things that will constantly seem like it could be the end of your business, but you just need to push forward and face them. And so that's what I've learned the most. And talking with other founders is that these things are completely normal. Like the first time we had an issue with our manufacturer, it was existential. I was like, well, this is it. I have no company, and it's over. And then talking with others, this has happened to my company three times. This is just the way it is, it is not easy. And so I think approaching it from that way of like, you're not going to win everything, it's not going to be easy, there's going to be challenges and you just have to be ready to face them, I think it is a big one. And for me, I think what I could have done better is probably take more help from others. I've tended to be very independent, wanting to run everything as much as I can on my own. But I've realized just how collaborative people are, and how many people are really there to open and help, and to actually take people up on that, open my heart and receive that advice. And that helps.
Justine Reichman: I think it's important because we don't all have the expertise, all the different facets of a business. So it's really important to allow, even cultivate a group of people that can best support you so that you can lean into what your skill set is, and other people can lean into what theirs are so that collaboratively, you can build a really strong foundation.
Maria Paula Garces: So anytime we have some kind of issue, I have about six people that I consult, which are basically my advisors. They have all kinds of varying perspectives, and then we end up settling on, okay, this would be the best course of action, this is the best perspective.
Justine Reichman: So for that, I'm curious, when you started your company, how long did it take you to build up that advisory board? Was that one of the first things you did?
Maria Paula Garces: No, actually. And it's still very informal. It's still very informal. I guess part of my cautiousness and wanting to have things buttoned up before I kind of present things, just to put our best foot forward. It's also the culmination of having been years in business. I've always been into a lot of entrepreneurship events, meetups, networking events, that kind of thing. So I've really built up my network. It's at the point where I do have several people that I can reach out to, and then these people that I keep in touch with consistently. I'd say, yeah, over the last two years, one person in the industry knows like five people and then that person knows five people and just kind of keeps spreading. That's been super beneficial.
Justine Reichman: Awesome. As we come to a close here, I'm wondering if folks that are listening or watching are curious about getting the product, trying the product, what's the best way they can do that?
Maria Paula Garces: So we are currently sold out, unfortunately. But when we do get the product again, which I hope will be by the end of April, you can buy the chocolates on fungiblechocolates.com.
Justine Reichman: And for those folks who are curious to learn more about you, is there a way they could reach out whether they're interested in investing, or collaborating, or building a partnership?
Maria Paula Garces: Sure. I think the best way to reach me would probably be on my LinkedIn, which is just my name Maria P. Garces, and then the company is Fungible Chocolates.
Justine Reichman: Maria, thank you so much for your time today. It's great chatting.
Maria Paula Garces: Yeah, appreciate it.
