It all started over a simple bowl of porcini pasta. Bruno was hosting friends for dinner, cooking and talking with his usual enthusiasm about mushrooms: their health benefits, their origins, their potential. His friend looked at him (this was not the first time they’d heard him gush over fungi) and said, “You should start a mushroom business.”
At the time, Bruno was working in finance, a world far removed from his real passion: plants - a fascination inspired by the lush nature he’d grown up surrounded by in Brazil. A bicycle accident left him bedridden for weeks, giving him the time and perspective to connect more deeply with plants and natural remedies. He immersed himself in the world of mushrooms and botanicals - researching and experimenting until his curiosity became expertise. Eventually, he realized this wasn’t just a hobby, but a calling.
Learn more: A Guide to Mushroom & Botanical Terms
What fascinated him most was mushrooms' ability to do more than just nourish: they could energize, support physiological balance, and help the body adapt to stress. He envisioned products that would bring these natural benefits into everyday life. What began as an enthusiastic dinner table conversation has since grown into cogu.: a space where mushrooms and botanicals are reimagined as everyday allies for energy, focus, and well-being.
“cogu. is short for cogumelos, the Portuguese word for mushrooms,” Bruno explains. “In the beginning, I just called it the cogus project, and eventually the name stuck. It felt simple, natural - just like what we’re creating.”
Bruno spends his days in the lab, flanked by shelves of color-coded tinctures and extracts of mushrooms and botanicals, from turkey tail to chipotle, Irish moss, and ginkgo leaves.
He adds various combinations of these to his own drinks daily, continually experimenting with flavor combinations and functions.
One of his go-tos is a Cordyceps-based energy blend, which has helped reduce his dependence on caffeine. Of course, Bruno still enjoys his coffee, but he trusts Cordyceps to sustain his energy throughout the day - without the jitters or crash.
Bruno describes mushrooms and plants as inseparable partners. “Porcini is actually a species of mycorrhizal mushrooms,” he explains. “They’re connected to plant roots in a symbiotic relationship - mushrooms give the roots food, and the plants return the favor with the sugars the mushrooms need to grow.”
That same sense of reciprocity and interconnectedness guides how he thinks about cogu.: a brand built not only on the synergy of mushrooms and botanicals, but also on the idea of community and mutual support.
cogu. isn’t just about products - it’s about people. Bruno wants to build a community and start a conversation. His passion is contagious; he can talk about mushrooms all day! Starting in Berlin, cogu. is creating a space where curiosity meets conversation, where anyone interested in mushrooms and botanicals can learn, share, and feel part of something bigger.
Join us as we grow - from the ground up!
