supplement · functional mushroom
MudWtr vs Ryze Creator Fit, Which Roster Suits Your Brand
André Duqum, a 706,000-subscriber YouTube interview host, has run 8 MudWtr deals since 2023. André sits between meditation, plant medicine, and longevity. MudWtr is the mushroom-and-cacao morning drink you have heard on half the podcasts in that lane. A founder asked me last week if Ryze, the other big functional mushroom brand, books the same kind of creator. The short answer is no.
Across 93 MudWtr deals on 49 YouTube creators and 43 Ryze deals on 24 creators we track, the two rosters barely overlap. Different audiences, different price points, different cadence.
The two rosters look nothing alike
The names give it away. MudWtr's top creators are André Duqum, Noah Kane (a 693,000-subscriber podcast host with 6 MudWtr deals), Jesse Michels (a 538,000-subscriber UFO-and-fringe-science host with 7 MudWtr deals), and Bret Weinstein (a 529,000-subscriber evolutionary biology podcaster). All four sit in the same lane. Long-form audio, fringe-curious audience, biohacker overlap.
Ryze's top creators are Southern Dirt Gardener, a homestead and vegetable garden channel with 8 Ryze deals on a 15,400-subscriber channel. My Abiding Journal, a 50,900-subscriber faith-and-homestead vlogger with 6 Ryze deals. Rack of Lam, a 103,000-subscriber rural cooking channel. Flavor 4 Dinner, peachinthepines, Kami's Kamcorder.
Two different worlds. One sells mushroom coffee to people who follow Tim Ferriss. The other sells mushroom coffee to people who follow seed-starting tutorials.
The MudWtr side: podcast, biohacker, longevity
MudWtr has run 93 deals over 33 months, roughly one new deal every 11 days. The cadence is podcast-shaped. The top three creators stay on the brand for repeat reads. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, a 267,000-subscriber longevity-medicine YouTuber, has run MudWtr alongside Four Sigmatic. Mayim Bialik, the actress-and-neuroscientist, has run MudWtr. Cameron Hanes, the 564,000-subscriber hunting and endurance podcaster, has run MudWtr. Here is the cadence pattern we map before any brand commits to a podcast roster.
The MudWtr audience is the one that already shops adaptogens, nootropics, and clean caffeine. They have heard of lion's mane and reishi before the ad starts. The brief is short because the audience does the education.
Wondering which side your brand fits? We map the two rosters against your product, your price point, and your retention curve, and tell you which archetype to book first before you sign a single creator.
Send us your last roster →The Ryze side: homestead, garden, mindful living
Ryze has run 43 deals over 26 months, roughly one every 18 days. The roster looks like a different category. Southern Dirt Gardener at 15,400 subs ran 8 Ryze deals. That is a creator most agencies would skip on the subscriber count alone. On Ryze the audience overlap is too tight to skip.
Ryze sells the same product category as MudWtr. The pitch is different. Ryze frames the drink as a morning ritual, not a stack. The creators do not list ingredients. They show the mug on a porch.
The Ryze audience is the one that wants a quieter morning, not a sharper brain. The brand brief reads the same way. No mention of nootropic. No mention of cognitive load. The category language stays soft. Here is the soft-frame brief template we use for the homestead and lifestyle lane.
- Sending a Huberman-style ingredient brief to a garden channel
- Sending a porch-mug script to a longevity-MD podcast host
- Booking both archetypes in the first six deals before you know which audience converts
Across the 80 distinct functional mushroom creators we track, the audience overlap between the MudWtr lane and the Ryze lane is under 12 percent.— Influencer Advisory deal log, 2026Get the side-by-side roster map, free →
How to pick the side your brand fits
Three questions answer it.
What does the buyer already shop? If the buyer already shops AG1, Magic Mind, and Athletic Greens, the MudWtr lane fits. If the buyer already shops Trader Joe's, Magnolia, and seed catalogs, the Ryze lane fits.
How does the product position? A stack-and-tune product fits MudWtr. A morning-ritual product fits Ryze. The same powder can be sold either way. The roster has to match the framing you pick.
What is the price point? MudWtr lane creators price higher on a per-read basis. Ryze lane creators price lower but want longer commitments. A 12-pack subscription fits the Ryze lane. A premium adaptogen line fits the MudWtr lane.
What to test before you spend
Book one creator from each side. Same product, same offer, same window. Read the comments after 30 days. The lane your buyers live in is the one where the comments sound like your existing customer reviews.
Everyday Dose, a competing functional mushroom brand, runs 34 deals across 14 creators that read more MudWtr-shaped than Ryze-shaped. Bret Weinstein has run Everyday Dose. More Than Farmers, a 442,000-subscriber homestead channel, has run 5 Everyday Dose deals. That is the rare brand straddling both lanes. Most brands cannot. Here is the two-lane test framework we run for new functional mushroom brands.
Where We Come In
A functional mushroom brand that books the wrong lane in the first six deals does not just lose the budget. It loses the read on its own audience. The comments come back generic. The repeat purchase rate stays flat. The brand decides creator marketing does not work.
We map the two rosters against your product line, your price point, and the audience your existing customers came from. The MudWtr lane and the Ryze lane both work. They do not work for the same brand at the same stage. We tell you which side to book first and what to brief the creator before the camera turns on. See the FTC dietary supplement advertising guide for the substantiation rules that apply on either side.
Right lane, right creator, right brand.
FAQ
Which brand has more creator deals?
MudWtr leads. We track 93 deals across 49 creators since July 2023. Ryze sits at 43 deals across 24 creators since February 2024. Ryze is the faster-growing on a per-month basis.
Do they book the same kind of creator?
No. MudWtr leans biohacker, podcast, longevity-MD. Ryze leans homestead, garden, lifestyle. The audiences barely overlap. Copying one playbook on the other side misfires on creator fit.
Can a new brand book both archetypes?
Yes, but not in the first six deals. Pick the side that matches your positioning first. Add the second archetype after the first one pays back.
Reading loop
Frequently asked
Which brand has more creator deals, MudWtr or Ryze?
MudWtr leads. We track 93 MudWtr deals across 49 YouTube creators since July 2023. Ryze sits at 43 deals across 24 creators since February 2024. MudWtr has run longer and at higher volume. Ryze is the faster-growing of the two on a per-month basis.
Do MudWtr and Ryze book the same kind of creator?
No. MudWtr leans biohacker, podcast, and longevity-MD. Ryze leans homestead, garden, and lifestyle. The audiences barely overlap. A brand copying one playbook on the other side will misfire on creator fit.
Can a new functional mushroom brand book both archetypes at once?
Yes, but not for the first six deals. Pick the side that matches your product positioning first. Add the second archetype after the first one is paying back. We see brands waste budget when they book both before learning which audience converts.