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Close-up of mushroom gills with the words “NORTH SPORE” in bold white letters over the image.

North Spore

Mushrooms for everyone

For a decade, North Spore has helped people grow mushrooms everywhere, from kitchen counters to commercial farms. As the movement expanded from hobbyists to wellness enthusiasts and full-scale growers, the brand was ready for a platform that could match its ambition.

We became North Spore’s partner across brand, commerce, and lifecycle marketing. We built a brand system ready for a wider audience, rebuilt the Shopify Plus store from the ground up in 90 days, and overhauled email and SMS to grow the subscriber list up to 5.6x faster. Beginners find their way in, and experts still get the deep stuff.

A black tote bag with mushroom illustrations and names, labeled NORTH SPORE, lying on green grass in sunlight.
Text “Mushrooms for good” with overlapping translucent orange mushrooms on the right side and a small oval logo reading “MIRTIL” above the word “Mushrooms.”.
North Spore brand collage with mushroom photography, a grow-kit call to action, and an editorial tile about brain health.
A card with NORTH SPORE text lies on top of large, light brown mushrooms, surrounded by dark shadows.
Abstract design with mauve shapes on the left, yellow line art flowers in the upper right, and a purple flower in the lower right corner on a transparent background.
Slender yellow mushrooms grow beside a violet mushroom cluster in North Spore’s brand artwork. A cluster of pale mauve mushrooms from North Spore’s brand illustrations.

THE BIG IDEA

Putting funk back in
the mix

North Spore needed a brand that could welcome beginners without losing the growers who built it. The black-and-white look was working, packaging was staying put, and a full website rebuild was on the way. So we built on what already worked.

At the same time, they were ready for something fresh. And a little funky. With an audience segment affectionately nicknamed “Shroomers,” we had license to get weird in the right places: inject personality, break a few rules, and give the brand room to surprise people without losing the trust they’d spent a decade building.

A black T-shirt with colorful mushroom illustrations hangs on a tree; beside it, a white cap with Mushrooms for good rests on moss in a forest scene.

Brand Identity

Mushrooms in technicolor

Black stayed as the foundation, but North Spore’s vibe is far from cottagecore. They wanted to feel organic and grounded, connected to the earth, while leaving the door open for delight.

We gave black some company: a richer palette with colors like Golden Oyster, Lion’s Mane, and an electric violet called Trip, all living alongside black without competing with it. At first glance, the system feels clean and modern. Look closer and you’ll find color pops, playful imagery, and little surprises for the Shroomers.

Four North Spore story designs pair close-up mushroom textures with reishi illustrations and the line “Grow wonder.”
A collage of mushroom-themed social media posts, including close-ups of mushroom gills, a forest portrait, and text about mushrooms and mycology.
A row of illustrated owl heads in various colors separated by the phrase “You are on a unique path,” repeated multiple times on a black background.
A row of illustrated owl heads in various colors separated by the phrase “You are on a unique path,” repeated multiple times on a black background.

Digital Experience

Creating cultures

North Spore’s loyal audience is built on trust, curiosity, and a shared obsession with fungi. The new website needed to serve that core community while widening the door for the mushroom-curious who feel intimidated by the learning curve.

We started by defining user personas and mapping journeys, from the first “how do I grow mushrooms?” question to repeat purchases, deeper education, and experimentation. That work shaped everything that followed: navigation, page hierarchy, product storytelling, and the balance between education and commerce.

Everything pointed at one number. When we asked North Spore’s CEO how he’d measure success, he answered in two words: conversion rate.

Screenshot of North Spore’s website showing mushroom growing kits, a 20% off wellness code, customer testimonials, and product options like spray and grow mushroom kits.
North Spore’s storefront pairs pink and white mushrooms with the headline “Mushrooms made easy—and magical.”
Six minimalistic, gold line art geometric symbols on a light background, including circles, an atom shape, spiral, tree, house, and a yin-yang inspired design.
A website homepage featuring mushroom guides, collections, customer testimonials, and a footer, all with mushroom-themed graphics and photos.
Four bestselling North Spore mushroom starter kits appear in a row over a close-up of mushroom gills.

Shopify Plus Development

A framework for experimentation

North Spore runs 450+ products with a small team, so we built its Shopify Plus store as a platform to grow on, with no developer needed for every change. Reusable theme blocks handle layouts, and Shopify metaobjects hold structured content that shows up across the site.

Behind the scenes, we rebuilt the catalog itself, turning a sprawl of standalone products into parent products with variants, each tied to its species info. Content grids fill themselves, and bundles and upsells sit right where people shop.

Two overlapping pop-up windows show an online cart: one contains mushroom grow kit items; the other says the cart is empty with a “Shop Grow Kits” button. Blurred, colorful mushrooms are in the background.
Screenshot of a product page for the Organic Lions Mane Spray & Grow Mushroom Growing Kit, showing the kit image and purchase options.
Chart showing 13 types of mushrooms to grow, including Lions Mane, Shiitake, Blue Oyster, Pink Oyster, and others, with icons and beginner recommendations. Orange mushroom in the background.
Two product listings: Lion’s Mane Mushroom Tincture with add and plus buttons, and Wild Foraged Chaga Mushroom Tea with a yellow ADD button. Each has a brief product description.
Three mobile screens show a mushroom-growing guide, a Chestnut mushroom growing kit for sale, and a shopping page with categories for grow kits and collections.
Side-by-side comparison of a websites old (left) and new (right) designs for mushroom fruiting blocks, showing an updated layout and improved visuals.
Before-and-after comparison of mobile shopping carts: the before screens show plain, minimal carts; the after screens show visually enhanced, detailed, and more engaging cart designs.
Before-and-after comparison of a website redesign; the old site has a white background and dropdown menus, the new site has a dark theme, clear categories, product images, and an orange top bar.

THE RESULTS

In the first 30 days after launch, ahead of North Spore’s biggest sales event of the year, North Spore mushroomed.

+40%
Increase in gross sales
+7%
Increase in conversion rate
1.5x
Increase in page speed
+13%
Increase in average order value
A collage of seven website screenshots about mushrooms, showing guides, blog posts, shopping options, FAQs, and mushroom images in various layouts and colors.
Cluster of light-colored oyster mushrooms in front of large, bold white text that reads NORTH SPORE on a transparent background.

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