From mushroom shed to skincare shelf: The rural entrepreneur harnessing nature’s potential

Entrepreneur Taylor McConnell has branched out into tallow skincare – a niche market that has seen a surge in popularity. Supplied.

Mushrooms and skincare might seem like an unlikely combination, but it’s a winning one for North Canterbury entrepreneur Taylor McConnell.

When Taylor McConnell walked away from running a car yard almost a decade ago, he knew one thing for certain: he didn’t want to work for anyone else again.

What he didn’t know was that a chance encounter with a mushroom kit would eventually lead him into two very different businesses – one supplying homegrown fungi, and another creating natural tallow-based skincare.

“I’d always loved being outdoors. I come from a farming background and enjoyed gardening and surfing,” he says. “I bought a mushroom kit on a whim and quickly realised there wasn’t much information around about how to grow them. So, I taught myself from textbooks.”

McConnell began producing more mushrooms than he could eat, so he started supplying local restaurants.

Before long, what began as a hobby had grown into a full-time business.

By the time Covid-19 hit, he was producing around 100 kilograms of specialty mushrooms a week, mostly oyster and shiitake, for restaurants across Canterbury and Otago.

When lockdowns stopped restaurant trade overnight, he had to come up with a new plan.

“I built a website and went down the education path, showing people how to grow mushrooms themselves and supplying what they needed.”

 That shift was the start of SporeShift, a company that now sells grow kits, grain spawn, agar plates and everything a home gardener or small farm might need to cultivate their own fungi.

 Today, McConnell also supplies cultures and materials to other commercial growers.

The appeal, he says, is partly in the mystery.

 “Mushrooms are a bit elusive and exotic. Gardeners who’ve grafted fruit trees or grown heirloom vegetables are always looking for the next challenge. For a lot of people, that’s mushrooms.”

Even sensational headlines haven’t dented interest.

Golden Enoki is just one of the mushroom kits Taylor McConnell sells. Supplied.

 When news broke of an Australian woman allegedly killing her dinner guests with a poisonous mushroom-laced beef Wellington, McConnell says it only boosted curiosity.

 “There were lots of jokes about it, but all media is good media. Every time a story like that hits, website traffic goes up and so do sales.”

For beginners, SporeShift’s ready-to-grow kits are as simple as placing a bag on the bench and watching the fungi grow.

DIY kits offer a more hands-on experience, while advanced growers can delve into agar work and spawn production in a sterile lab environment.

On his family’s 20-acre Ohoka property, McConnell operates a custom-built cleanroom, incubation space and packing area, most of which he designed and built himself because the equipment wasn’t available in New Zealand.

Mushrooms -like this Pink Oyster – are exotic and that appeals to home growers and foodies alike. Supplied.

While SporeShift continues to thrive, McConnell’s eye for emerging trends led him in another unexpected direction.

“I watch a lot of what happens in the US and Canada because New Zealand usually lags behind by a year or two. I saw the rise of tallow-based skincare and thought it would be cool to make something clean and simple for friends and family.”

The result is Tálōs Skincare, a small-batch, tallow-based body balm made from South Island beef fat, olive oil, mānuka honey and essential oils.

The name comes from Greek mythology: Talos was a bronze guardian who protected the island of Crete. “We liked the idea of the product as a protector of the skin,” he says.

One of the biggest formulation challenges was neutralising the natural smell of beef fat without chemicals.

“My sisters were ruthless testers. Getting rid of that smell in a natural way is time-consuming, but it sets us apart.”

McConnell is quick to address common misconceptions about tallow.

“Some people think it’s gross to rub fat on your skin or say there’s not enough science behind it. You can’t patent beef fat, so no one’s funding big studies. But people are surprised how well it soaks in. Tallow is very similar to the oils our skin produces, so it absorbs easily. It’s also rich in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, which are absorbed and stored by the skin.”

For now, Tálōs is sold only online, much like his mushroom supplies, but interest is growing.

 “Some of the bigger brands are doing the hard work educating people about tallow, which is great. Once customers want a product with a cleaner scent, they start looking for alternatives.”

Both ventures, he says, started the same way.

 “I wanted to make something useful and natural for the people I care about. If it turns into a business, that’s a bonus.”

Find out more:

SporeShift Mushrooms – www.sporeshift.co.nz

Tálōs Skincare – www.talosskincare.co.nz