Why We Stay Small on Purpose
People sometimes ask why Boxed-In Mushroom Company hasn’t scaled into a larger operation or partnered with big distributors.
It’s a fair question. From the outside, bigger often looks better.
But for us, staying small is not a limitation. It’s a choice.
And it’s a choice that shapes every part of how we grow, extract, and share what we make.
Because quality starts with proximity
We grow and harvest our mushrooms ourselves. We handle extraction ourselves. We bottle ourselves.
That closeness to the work matters.
It means we see the mushrooms as they grow. We notice when something is off. We adjust when conditions change. We stay present in the process instead of managing it from a distance.
That level of attention simply isn’t possible at industrial scale.
Staying small allows us to stay close.
Because accountability matters
When someone takes one of our tinctures, that relationship doesn’t feel abstract to us. It’s personal.
We meet many of the people who use our products. We talk with them at markets. We answer their questions. We hear their experiences. We listen when something works well or doesn’t.
That accountability changes how you work.
It makes you careful. It makes you honest. It makes you responsible in a way that can’t be delegated, and we value that responsibility.
Because we don’t want to outsource trust
As companies grow, processes get handed off. Growing is outsourced. Extraction is outsourced. Bottling is outsourced. Decisions get spread across layers of people who may never touch the product.
That’s not inherently wrong. It’s just not what we want.
We don’t want to outsource the parts that matter most.
Staying small lets us keep our hands on the work, and our name directly connected to what leaves our space.
Because scale changes priorities
Growth brings pressure: more volume, more speed, more efficiency, more margins.
Those pressures subtly shift what gets optimized.
Staying small gives us the freedom to optimize for care, consistency, and clarity instead.
It lets us say no when something doesn’t feel right.
It lets us change a process because it improves quality, not just because it improves throughput.
That freedom matters to us.
Because this work is craft, not just production
For us, growing and extracting mushrooms is not just a supply chain. It’s a craft.
It’s something you learn by doing, by paying attention, by making mistakes and improving, by staying curious, and by respecting the biology you’re working with.
Craft doesn’t scale the same way factories do. And that’s okay.
We’re grateful for the people who choose this with us
We’re deeply thankful for everyone who finds us, supports us, and trusts what we make.
Staying small only works because people choose to support careful work over mass-produced alternatives.
That trust is not something we take lightly.
It’s something we try to earn, over and over again, in how we show up, how we explain what we do, and how we care for the details.
An open invitation
We don’t believe our way is the only right way.
It’s just the way that feels honest for us.
If what you’re looking for is something carefully grown, thoughtfully made, and personally accountable — you’re welcome here.
And if not, that’s okay too.
We’re grateful either way.