Host Defense Brand Experience
Brand Breif
Story: Host Defense is a mushroom supplement brand started in 1980 by speaker, author, mycologist, researcher, wand entrepreneur, Paul Stamets. Paul’s interest in mushrooms began when he was a teenager with a book from his older brother. After winning several awards, and writing 6 books, Stamets has earned the well deserved title of “the mushroom guy”.
His extensive research in mushrooms and their growth structures called mycelium, has helped lead to way in the growing market of medicinal mushroom products.
Why Design a Brand Experience?
Host Defense is doing well in the mushroom supplement sector. However, this market is growing fast, and has many competitors. Transforming from just a supplement company into a lifestyle brand can help Host Defense stand out as the mushroom company, just like Paul is the mushroom guy.
Research
Company Stats
Year Founded - 2010
Parent Company - Fungi Perfecti, Founded in 1980
Market Sector - Vitamins, Supplement, Teas, and Coffee
Target Market - Adults with an interest in natural solutions to improving body and mind health
Annual Sales - Approx. $18 million
Global Mission
Collaborate with doctors to support health
Educate communities about mushrooms
Invest in integrated mushroom technologies - Protect the natural environment
Replace pesticides with mushroom solutions
Pioneer strategies to help save the honey bee
Aid agriculture a health with mushrooms
Encourage R&D of mushroom bio fuels
Market Stats
Market Sector - Medicinal Mushrooms
Current Sector Size - 198.7 million
Sector Growth - 261.8 million by 2026
Market Needs/Wants
Continued research into mushrooms wellness
Sustainable ways to grow mushrooms
Eco-conscious packaging
Market Pain Points
Global warming and a changing environment
High demand causing growers to cut corners
Not FDA certified leading to lack of credibility
Competitors
Om Mushrooms - Probably the biggest competitor, this is a well known mushroom brand. However, it is not environmentally conscious.
Four Sigmatic - This company has fantastic marketing and branding, but the price point of their products is very high.
Mushroom Wisdom - This company has very high quality products, but can be a very difficult brand to find in stores.
Navitas Organics - This company has very high distribution, but does not have research backing the products that is sells.
Aloha Medicinals - This company is backed by extensive research, but it is a very small company and does not have wide distribution.
Solaray - This is one of the largest supplement brands. However, they have not expanded to the mushroom supplement space, yet.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Unique product
Founded on extensive research
Green/Environmentally focused
Transparency of ingredients
Weaknesses
A limited product offering
Not FDA approved
Weak marketing campaign
Opportunities
Emerging mushroom technology
Expand product line
Increased awareness of wellness
Decriminalization of psilocybin
Threats
Environmental changes
Supply chain challenges
Other well funded companies
Shrinking middle class in the West
Affinity Mapping for Host Defense based on macro trend research.
Trend Research
Marco Trends
Increase in life expectancy
Raise in conscious consumption
Sustainability and eco-consciousness
Water will become the new “luxury”
Personalized experiences
Food as medicine
Market Trends in Brand Sector
Ingredient transparency and sourcing
Plant-based lifestyle
Sustainability
Water as the new “luxury”
Food as medicine
Personalized vitamins
Psilocybin mushrooms for therapy
Issues to Address
For a small company, Host Defense is doing well in the medicinal mushroom sector. However, this market is growing, and expected to reach 261.8 million by the year 2026. Host Defense was founded on extensive R&D. The purpose of this project is to explore the ways which Host Defense can use their credibility as a brand to go beyond supplements to support all aspects of wellness using mushrooms.
Problem Statement
In the growing market of medicinal mushrooms, how can Host Defense stand out and continue leading the way?
Strategy & Solution
Shift Host Defense into the future of wellness by creating a multi-touch-point, personalized experience, that goes beyond mushroom supplements and teas.
Key Deliverables
Updated Visual Branding Language
Increasing Advertising & Marketing
Expanding Product Lines & Services Offered
Value Proposition
To provide natural, mushroom centric solutions for enhancing physical and mental well being through products and education, as well as connecting and growing the mycology community.
Market Definition
Brand Category - Supplements/Food
Brand Context - Provide products and educational tools for and about medicinal mushrooms, as well as for the mycology community.
Brand Promise & Reason to Believe- To provide mushroom based products and services that help people improve and maintain their health.
The founder is known as “the mushroom guy”, and in the emerging market of medical mushrooms, he IS the guy people turn to for education and knowledge about mushrooms. There is even a mushroom species he (Paul Stamets) discovered that he named after his son. He honestly and truly believes in using mushrooms as medicine, and wants to make these medicines available to as many people as possible.
Brand Attributes
Wellness Enhancement - Aiding in increasing overall health.
Environmentally Conscious - Keeping mother nature at the core.
Naturally Healing (Food as Medicine) - Rejuvenating the body and mind through food.
Research Driven - Producing products based on years of data.
Community Centric - Focusing on the connections we all share.
Industry Trailblazer - Leading the way for medicinal mushrooms.
Design Process
Current Wordmark and Logo
Inspiration
After looking at the shapes in the current mushroom logo and font choice of the wordmark, I was reminded of totem poles and Native American art. I wanted to update the logo and wordmark, but not lose the core value of the brand.
Color
The second is of course mushrooms. I looked at images of varies mushroom shapes and their varying colors for a color palette.
Logo Development
I originally tried to simplify the mushroom logo. However, after simplifying the shapes too much, I felt the logo was moving too far away from its roots, nature and spirit mother earth.
Refined Wordmark, Logo, & Color Palette
Brand Patterns
Refined Packaging
Tagline Exploration
Current Tagline - Powered by Mushroom Mycelium Exploration
Fuel with Fungi
Healing Through the Power of Nature
Nature’s Network Connected to You
Naturally Connected, and Growing
My Cells I Am
Rooted in Mycelium
It All Start With a Spore
One Spore At A Time
From Spore to My Body
Holding Nature Together
Connecting Nature to You
Root Your Health in Nature
More Than Mushrooms
A World Where Nature is Supreme
Unlocking a Natural Future
The Future is Natural
Creating a Connected Sustainable Future
It’s not Magic, It’s Mushrooms
The Future isn’t Magic, It’s Mushrooms
Mushroom Power
Mushroom Powered Future
Revised Tagline - More Than Mushrooms
Collaterals
Persona Creation & User Scenario
Persona 1
Maya Booker
Gender: Female
Age: 46
Salary: $78,000
Location: Seattle, WA
Education: BA in Early Childhood Development
Occupation: Yoga Instructor
Marital Status: Married
Number of Kids: 3 (ages 16, 19, 21)
Lifestyle: Yoga instructor specializing in yoga for kids and young adults. Also a volunteer yoga instructor for troubled youth.
Values: Health, Community, Personal Growth
Interests: Reading, Cooking, Gardening
Pain Points:
Concerned about staying fit as she ages
Physical changes affecting her ability to teach
Her children getting older and leaving home
Needs:
Solutions for muscle pain and inflammation
To find a new why or purpose in her life
Income stream not relying on physically active
Aspirations
Travel to South America to teach yoga
Open her own yoga studio chain
Persona 2
Vanessa Walsh
Gender: Female
Age: 38/39
Salary: $125,000
Location: Seattle, WA
Education: Art Director
Occupation: Yoga Instructor
Marital Status: Divorced
Number of Kids: 1 (ages 6)
Lifestyle: Busy single mom and passionate creative who runs her own design studio. Also a caretaker for her mother who has dementia.
Values: Individuality, Time, Nature
Interests: Good Food, Painting, Podcasts
Pain Points:
Had little time for herself
Loves nature, but lives in a busy city
Depressed about being recently divorced
Needs:
Time to herself for exercise and meditation
Ways to connect with nature more regularly
Friends not connected to her ex-husband
Aspirations
Own a home outside the city with land
Paint more and teach he son about art and how to paint
Persona 3
Kevin Nguyen
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Salary: $88,000
Location: Seattle, WA
Education: BA in Culinary Arts
Occupation: Chef/Nutritionist
Marital Status: Single/Dating
Number of Kids: 0
Lifestyle: Chef with a focus on bridging eastern and western foods. Works at a high end restaurant and teaches classes at a culinary school.
Values: History, Hard Work, Education
Interests: Documentaries, Bike Riding, Meditation
Pain Points:
Has little time for dating and socializing
Low energy, finding it difficult to get to the gym
Not very outgoing and shy
Needs:
New recipe ideas for a cookbook
Expand his nutritionist client base
Places outside of work to meet people
Aspirations
Own his own restaurant and culinary school
Learn to forage for his own local ingredients
User Scenario
June, 2024 - Seattle, WA
One night while driving home after teaching 4 back to back kids yoga classes, Maya notices her wrists are aching a lot more than they use to. Her doctor recently told her she is perimenopause, and this has really been weighing on her mind. Since hitting 40, she has felt more muscle soreness, and overall lower energy levels than when she was younger.
Since teaching yoga is her only stream of income, she is growing more concerned with keeping her body limber in order to continue teaching.
On her drive home, she often listens to podcasts. At the beginning of the podcast, when the sponsors are listed, she notices a new one she hasn’t heard of before, Host Defense. In the Host Defense sponsor ad they list some of the mushroom supplements they offer, and what they are good for. One mushroom blend they mention is cordycep and chaga that is good for reducing inflammation, enhancing performance, and increasing stamina. At the end of the ad, there is a code for a 30 day trial of any of their vitamins.
Later that night while Maya is cooking dinner, she notices the soreness in her wrists once again, and remembers the mushroom supplement ad. Maya is certainly a supplement native, and has seen mushroom supplements at the store when purchasing other vitamins. She looks up the Host Defense website, and reorganizes seeing this brand at the store. With the discount code for a free trial, it wouldn’t cost her anything to try the supplements, so she decides to order the free trial.
January, 2026 - Seattle, WA
When picking up her son from his yoga for kids class on a Sunday morning in January, Vanessa gets chatting with the yoga instructor, Maya. Vanessa tells Maya how much her son has been enjoying the class, and says that she wishes she had time to take yoga classes, but between work and raising her son, she doesn’t have the time to do anything for herself.
Maya tells her she can relate, but as part of her New Year’s resolution, she is pledging to take more time for herself. Maya tells Vanessa about this week long wellness retreat center she and her husband have decided to attend.
“How did you hear about it?” Vanessa asked.
Maya tells her that she’s been taking a Chaga and Cordycep Mushroom Supplement for a few years to help with inflammation and muscle recovery, and when she was reordering supplements, an ad came up in the company app about their wellness center that had recently opened.
“I’ll text you a link so you can read more about it.”, Maya tells her.
Later that night, when Vanessa is scrolling through her phone just before going to bed (although she knows she shouldn’t be), she notices she has an unread text. Oh right, she remembers Maya said she was going to send her a link to that retreat center. She clicks the link and scrolls through. Her interest is certainly peaked, but thinks she is just too busy to take 6 days off from her design studio to go on a vacation, even if it is to a wellness center.
May, 2026 - Seattle, WA
Several months go by, until one night Vanessa is out for dinner with her friend Addison to celebrate her birthday. They are at her favorite restaurant, Local Roots. The restaurant specializes in seasonal dishes using local ingredients. One of the monthly specials on the menu is an oyster mushroom stir fry which uses mushrooms that have been locally foraged. As a nature lover, but never having enough time to spend in it, Vanessa opts for this dish.
At the end of dinner, Addison offers to pay the bill for Vanessa’s birthday. After she pays the bill using the restaurant’s app, a thank you screen pops up with a link to “Learn More About Events with Kevin Nguyen”.
Addison shows her phone to Vanessa and asks her if she knows who Kevin is. Vanessa tells her that he is the head chef at the restaurant. The two ladies finish their drinks and look over the upcoming events.
One event listed is “Featured Chef at the Host Defense, More Than Mushrooms Retreat Center October 12th - 18th”. Vanessa then remembers she had heard about this wellness center before from Maya, her son’s yoga instructor.
The next morning when Vanessa picks her son up from his yoga class, she asks Maya if she had gone to the Host Defense Wellness Center yet, and how it was? Maya tells her she just got back a little over 2 weeks ago, and that it was a life-changing experience, and has really helped her figure out where she what she would like to focus on moving forward in her life.
Later that night before bed, Vanessa is thinking about how she just turned 39 yesterday, and is getting close to the big 4-0. Even though her design business is going well, she just hasn’t felt like herself in years, and has especially felt a bit lost since her divorce 2 years ago. She decides she’ll at least email the HD wellness center to get some more information about signing up.
Before noon the next day, she is surprised to receive not an automated ‘here is more info” type of email, but rather a personal email from a facilitator at the wellness center thanking her for inquiring and asking a series of questions about why she would want to come to the center. After a few emails, Vanessa signs up for the week in October when Kevin Nguyen will be there, because if anything, at least she knows the food will be good, and some quiet time in nature, which she really misses.
As October appropriates, Vanessa is getting excited to attend the More Than Mushrooms wellness center. She is always a little nervous though, as she isn’t exactly sure what to expect.
A little over a month before her trip though, she gets a welcome package in the mail from Host Defense. The package is filled with additional information and photos, a list of things to consider bringing with you, a 30-day immune boosting mushroom vitamin to start before you travel, and other mushroom goodies.
Welcome Package Includes:
30-Day Mushroom Vitamin Boost
Mushroom, Hemp, and Cacao Protein Bars
Mushroom Soap
Mushroom Leather Journal with Hemp Paper
Image was created using Midjourney.
October, 2026 - Fern Ridge Lake, OR
The Host Defense, More Than Mushrooms wellness center is located on Fern Ridge Lake, a little over a 1/2 an hour drive west of Eugene, Oregon, and not far from the Eugene Airport.
Vanessa flies from Seattle to Eugene on October 11th, and then takes an autonomous taxi to the center. She arrives at the center around 2pm and checks in. She is a little nervous, but also excited and open to the possibles that await her.
With that, the next path Vanessa’s journey of life has just begun...
Takeaways and Summery
Takeaways
Host Defense was started by one of the top mycelium researchers in the world and currently focuses on mushroom supplements. The medicinal mushroom industry is expected to keep growing due to macro trends like conscious consumerism and sustainability.
The rise of consumers looking for personalized experiences, especially when it comes to their health, provides Host Defense an opportunity to go beyond being a supplements brand, and move into an all encompassing wellness brand.
Summery
Below the forest floor, there is an intertwined network of fungus threads called mycelium. These fungus roots connect the entire forest. Wellness isn’t just taking vitamins and going to the gym. Wellness includes taking care of both the body and mind of the individual, as well as the community.
Like mycelium connecting the forest, we are all connected. Our wellness depends on taking care of ourselves, our communities, and the planet. Host Defense serves all of those things, which is why they have the potential to continue growing with the medicinal mushroom market, and become more than mushrooms.