Premium functional ingredients, independently verified, built for brands that audit their supply chain.
Boreal Ingredient Partners is a Canadian sourcing consultancy for small-to-mid DTC supplement brands. We source functional mushroom extracts, botanical actives, and specialty nutraceutical ingredients through audited manufacturers, and we verify every batch at a third-party lab before your warehouse sees it.
Operating under SellByChat Inc. · Canadian-registered corporation · Lab partners: Eurofins, Alkemist · Specialty: functional mushroom, botanical extracts, nutraceutical ingredients
We do three things for the brands we work with.
Supplier qualification
We maintain a vetted roster of audited manufacturers in Canada and East Asia. Every supplier in our network has passed document review, cert verification with the issuing body, sample testing against independent lab results, and reference calls with prior buyers. You work with suppliers we've already qualified, not Alibaba listings.
Third-party verification
Every batch we broker is independently tested. Functional mushroom extracts run through Megazyme K-YBGL for beta-glucan (AOAC 2017.16) and alpha-glucan screening to detect starch adulteration. Heavy metals, microbials, pesticides, and PAHs follow USP standards. The lab reports are yours, on every shipment.
End-to-end coordination
We handle supplier negotiation, pre-shipment inspection (SGS or Bureau Veritas in country of origin), customs documentation, CFIA compliance, and delivery to your warehouse. You issue one PO, receive one invoice, track one shipment. No juggling suppliers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers.
Functional mushroom extracts, done right.
The functional mushroom category is worth $13.2 billion globally in 2026 and growing at 9.5% annually. Lion's mane alone, one of seven species in our scope, is up 13.5% year-over-year. The category is also one of the most misrepresented in the supplement industry. Most extracts sold to U.S. and European brands are mycelium grown on rice substrate, sold as "mushroom extract," with alpha-glucan (starch) making up 30-60% of the reported polysaccharide content.
Boreal sources fruiting-body-only extracts verified by Megazyme K-YBGL for true beta-glucan content. We reject any COA that reports total polysaccharide without beta-glucan broken out. We reject any supplier that cannot demonstrate alpha-glucan under 5% on an independent assay. Where dual extraction matters, reishi, lion's mane, chaga, we insist on it, and we confirm the triterpene or hericenone fraction separately by HPLC.
| Species | Common name | Active compounds | Minimum spec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hericium erinaceus | Lion's mane | Beta-glucan, hericenones | 30% β-glucan (Megazyme), α-glucan ≤5% |
| Ganoderma lucidum | Reishi | Beta-glucan, ganoderic acids | 30% β-glucan, 2% triterpenes (HPLC) |
| Cordyceps militaris | Cordyceps | Beta-glucan, cordycepin | 10% cordycepin (HPLC) |
| Inonotus obliquus | Chaga | Beta-glucan, polyphenols | 30% β-glucan, PAH-screened |
| Trametes versicolor | Turkey tail | PSK, PSP polysaccharides | 30% β-glucan |
| Grifola frondosa | Maitake | Beta-glucan, D-fraction | 30% β-glucan |
| Lentinula edodes | Shiitake | Lentinan, eritadenine | 30% β-glucan |
EU Novel Food compliance tracked. Cordyceps militaris is not approved as a Novel Food in the EU. Cordyceps sinensis was cleared in 2025. We verify current status before quoting any EU-bound ingredient. Non-compliance is a criminal liability, not a marketing footnote.
Chemistry, not claims.
The functional mushroom industry runs on a terminology swap most buyers don't catch. "30% polysaccharide" can legally mean 30% starch. Real quality is measured as beta-1,3 and beta-1,6 D-glucan specifically, tested by the Megazyme K-YBGL enzymatic method (AOAC 2017.16). We use that test. We pair it with an alpha-glucan screen to catch substrate contamination. Here's our full QC workflow on every batch.
- 01
Supplier document review.
COA, certifications (USDA NOP, EU Organic, ISO 22000), facility audit records, prior customer references. Certifications verified with the issuing body directly.
- 02
Pre-shipment inspection.
SGS, Bureau Veritas, or Intertek in the country of origin. Visual QC, packaging integrity, weight verification, sample collection for independent testing.
- 03
Independent lab testing (every batch).
Eurofins Madison or Alkemist Labs California.
- Beta-glucan by Megazyme K-YBGL (AOAC 2017.16)
- Alpha-glucan by enzymatic screen (target: ≤5%)
- Heavy metals by ICP-MS (USP <232/233>), Pb, As, Cd, Hg
- Microbiological (USP <2021>), total plate count, coliform, E. coli, Salmonella, yeast & mold
- Pesticide residue (USP <561>) on organic claims
- PAHs on chaga (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, from birch bark)
- Species identification (DNA-based where ambiguity exists)
- 04
Reconciliation against supplier COA.
Independent result must match the supplier's declared spec within 15% tolerance. Gaps beyond that trigger a supplier review and potential removal from our network.
- 05
Delivery package.
You receive: supplier COA, independent lab report, pre-shipment inspection certificate, customs clearance documentation, CFIA or FDA FSVP paperwork as applicable.
This process adds approximately $400 per batch in verification cost. On a $30,000 ingredient shipment that's 1.3%, cheaper than insurance, and it tells you exactly what you're putting into your product.
Read our full Ingredient Quality Standard →Four steps, zero surprises.
Discovery call.
30 minutes. We scope your category, target specs, monthly volume, and compliance requirements (FDA FSMA, CFIA, EFSA, GMP). If you already have a supplier you want audited, we can do that instead.
Supplier qualification and sample audit.
We draw a commercial sample from one to three qualified suppliers in our network and send it to Eurofins. You receive the full independent report within 10 business days, along with our recommendation on which supplier to proceed with and why.
Quote and contract.
Landed price to your warehouse, including independent lab verification on every commercial batch. 30% deposit at PO, 70% on bill of lading. Volume pricing available for MOQs above 500kg per commodity per month.
Ongoing fulfillment.
Each commercial batch goes through the full QC workflow. We maintain at least two backup suppliers per commodity so a single crop failure or export disruption doesn't interrupt your production.
We work with brands that audit their supply chain.
Boreal is built for a specific kind of client: small-to-mid brands that have outgrown hobbyist sourcing but aren't yet big enough to hit tier-1 supplier MOQs.
DTC supplement brands
Shopify-first brands with $2M-$25M in annual revenue. You've scaled past your original supplier but can't commit to 500kg-per-month MOQs. You need premium-grade ingredient supply with flexible volumes and clean paperwork for your next retailer audit or co-packer RFQ.
Functional beverage and food brands
Mushroom coffees, adaptogenic sparkling drinks, functional snack brands. You need ingredient suppliers who understand solubility specs, stability testing, and food-contact compliance, not just capsule-grade powders.
Contract manufacturers and private-label houses
You run SKU production for dozens of downstream brands. You need a sourcing partner who can supply specialty ingredients on tight timelines, with full batch traceability and documentation that passes FDA audits.
Who we are.
Boreal Ingredient Partners is a division of SellByChat Inc., a Canadian corporation operating from Kelowna, British Columbia.
Our parent company, SellByChat, has spent three years building AI sales and outreach systems for DTC brands, coaches, and small brand operators across wellness, fitness, and functional-health niches. We kept hearing the same request from our clients: "We need a sourcing partner who understands the difference between a real extract and a mycelium-on-grain product, and who can supply us below the MOQ a company like Nammex requires."
Boreal is our answer to that request. We're small by design. We work with a limited roster of clients so that supplier qualification, independent lab verification, and delivery coordination get the attention they require. If you need a partner who prioritizes chemistry over price, Boreal is built for you.
Blue Walker, Founder — Kelowna, BC
Four things we will not do.
We will not sell mycelium-on-grain as mushroom extract. Every product is fruiting body only unless the client specifically requests and understands mycelium biomass.
We will not accept a COA that omits beta-glucan. If the supplier only reports total polysaccharide, we assume starch adulteration until proven otherwise.
We will not ship Novel Food non-compliant ingredients into the EU. Cordyceps militaris and other unapproved species are not offered for EU delivery.
We will not compete on price alone. Our pricing reflects the cost of verification. If independent lab testing isn't worth 1-2% of your landed cost, we're not the right supplier for you.
Let's talk about what you're sourcing.
Reach out for a discovery call. We'll scope your category, specs, and volumes, and confirm whether Boreal is a fit. Initial calls are 30 minutes and free.
You can also review our complete quality commitments in our Ingredient Quality Standard (PDF).