Ancient Extracts Selected as a Premium Functional Wellness Brand as Mushroom World Expands Beyond the Traditional CBD Retail Model and Toward Functional Mushrooms, Specialty Beverages and Next-generation Wellness
LANCASTER, PA - September 1, 2026 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - BitFrontier Capital Holdings, Inc. (OTCID: BFCH), doing business as UNLOCKD Inc. (“UNLOCKD” or the “Company”), today announced the expansion of its Ancient Extracts brand into all nine Mushroom World retail locations, establishing a specialty retail footprint for the Company’s growing portfolio of functional mushroom coffee, matcha, functional lattes and wellness products.
The relationship represents more than an additional retail placement for Ancient Extracts. Management believes Mushroom World provides an early example of a broader transition occurring within specialty wellness retail as operators historically associated with CBD and hemp-derived products adapt their businesses toward functional mushrooms, specialty beverages and other wellness categories with growing consumer demand.
Mushroom World has evolved its retail concept around functional, non-psychedelic mushrooms and complementary wellness products, creating a specialty environment where consumers can discover mushroom coffees, matcha blends, tinctures, supplements, powders, chocolates and other functional products.
Ancient Extracts is expected to serve as a premium brand within that evolving assortment.
The initial Ancient Extracts product mix includes Morning Magic functional mushroom coffee, Morning Magic K-Cup-compatible coffee pods, matcha products, colored functional lattes and additional functional mushroom and wellness products.
The expansion coincides with the opening of Mushroom World’s newest location inside Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Florida:
Mushroom World - Sawgrass Mills Mall
12801 W. Sunrise Blvd. #130
Next to the West Food Court
Sunrise, Florida 33323
“Retail is changing, particularly in the wellness category, and we think Mushroom World is positioned on the right side of that change,” said John P. Gorst, Chief Executive Officer of UNLOCKD. “This is not simply about putting Ancient Extracts products on another shelf. We see an opportunity to help build an entirely different kind of wellness retail experience around functional mushrooms, coffee, matcha and products consumers can incorporate into their everyday lives.”
A Natural Evolution for Specialty Wellness Retail
The specialty wellness retail landscape is undergoing a significant transition.
Retailers that historically built significant portions of their businesses around CBD, hemp and intoxicating hemp-derived products are being forced to reconsider their product mix as the regulatory environment surrounding hemp-derived THC products changes. At the same time, consumer interest continues to expand across functional mushrooms, adaptogens, specialty coffee, matcha and other non-intoxicating wellness categories.
UNLOCKD believes this creates an opportunity for specialty retailers to evolve rather than simply retreat from the wellness category.
Functional mushrooms, adaptogens, specialty coffees, matcha and related products can participate in established daily consumer behaviors — morning coffee, afternoon beverages, supplementation and everyday wellness routines — while potentially reaching a broader consumer audience than products centered around an intoxicating experience.
For Mushroom World, that evolution creates an opportunity to move beyond the traditional CBD-store model and establish a differentiated specialty retail concept centered around functional wellness.
For Ancient Extracts, it creates a highly targeted physical retail channel in which consumers are already actively seeking many of the ingredients and product categories around which the brand is being developed.
“Ancient Extracts is exactly the type of brand we believe can help elevate what Mushroom World is becoming,” said Eyla Abramov of Mushroom World. “The products have premium positioning and strong presentation, and they fit naturally with where we see consumer interest moving. We believe Ancient Extracts can become an important brand within our stores and potentially one of our stronger sellers as more consumers discover functional mushrooms, mushroom coffee and other wellness beverages.”
Management believes the relationship provides Ancient Extracts with something conventional retail placement alone cannot necessarily provide: a concentrated environment for consumer education, sampling, product discovery and cross-selling.
From Retail Shelf to Functional Mushroom Coffee Bar
The companies are also exploring ways to evolve the Mushroom World retail experience beyond packaged products.
One concept under evaluation is the introduction of an in-store functional beverage bar built around Ancient Extracts products and formulations. Under the concept, trained wellness baristas could prepare functional mushroom coffees, specialty matcha beverages, colored functional lattes, elixirs and other functional drinks using Ancient Extracts products and ingredients.
The stores could additionally offer refrigerated ready-to-drink beverages alongside the existing packaged Ancient Extracts assortment.
Management believes the model could transform a traditional wellness retail visit into an experiential consumer interaction. Instead of simply purchasing a package of mushroom coffee from a shelf, a customer could experience an Ancient Extracts beverage prepared in-store, learn about its ingredients, purchase the underlying product for use at home and discover additional products across the Ancient Extracts portfolio.
“We want people to experience these products, not simply walk past them on a shelf,” Gorst continued. “Imagine walking into a specialty wellness store and ordering a Morning Magic mushroom coffee, a functional matcha or one of our colored lattes from a wellness barista. You can enjoy the beverage while you shop and then purchase the products you like to incorporate into your routine at home. That begins to create an ecosystem around the brand.”
Management believes prepared beverages could also expand the revenue opportunity of each location by adding another consumer purchase occasion alongside packaged-product sales. As the concept develops, the Company intends to evaluate beverage transactions, average ticket, packaged-product attachment rates, product sell-through and repeat purchasing, with the goal of determining whether the model can produce attractive and replicable store-level economics.
The model could also provide UNLOCKD with valuable point-of-sale information regarding consumer preferences, beverage popularity, product combinations and repeat purchasing as Ancient Extracts continues developing its broader retail strategy.
Building a New Retail Category Around Ancient Extracts
The Mushroom World relationship also gives UNLOCKD an opportunity to evaluate how Ancient Extracts could eventually participate more directly in specialty retail.
Initially, the Company intends to focus on product placement, sell-through, consumer response and opportunities to expand the Ancient Extracts presence within Mushroom World’s existing nine-store footprint.
As the relationship develops, UNLOCKD may evaluate additional opportunities involving new locations, expanded Ancient Extracts branding, store-within-a-store concepts and other forms of strategic collaboration.
Longer term, and subject to performance, financing, due diligence and definitive agreements, UNLOCKD may also evaluate the potential acquisition of Mushroom World or similar specialty retail assets. No agreement currently exists for UNLOCKD to acquire Mushroom World, and there can be no assurance that such a transaction will be pursued or completed.
Management nevertheless believes the existing relationship provides an opportunity to evaluate a potentially larger retail thesis: whether select specialty wellness locations could ultimately be developed or converted into Ancient Extracts-branded stores combining retail products, functional beverages, experiential sampling and consumer education.
“We are going to prove the economics before getting ahead of ourselves,” Gorst said. “But strategically, there is a much bigger opportunity here. If we can demonstrate strong sell-through, repeat purchasing and attractive store-level economics, there is a logical path to expanding the concept. Over time, that could include additional locations, deeper Ancient Extracts branding and potentially acquiring or converting specialty wellness stores into Ancient Extracts locations.”
A potential Ancient Extracts retail concept could combine multiple revenue and consumer-engagement channels within a single footprint, including Ancient Extracts packaged products; Morning Magic functional mushroom coffee and K-Cup-compatible pods; matcha and functional latte products; shilajit, functional mushrooms and complementary wellness products; freshly prepared coffees, matchas and functional elixirs; refrigerated ready-to-drink beverages; sampling and new-product launches; and direct consumer interaction and point-of-sale data.
Management believes this approach could allow physical retail to serve simultaneously as a revenue channel, customer-acquisition platform, product-testing environment and experiential extension of the Ancient Extracts brand.
Building Ancient Extracts Across Multiple Consumer Channels
The nine-store Mushroom World expansion is part of a broader commercialization strategy for Ancient Extracts.
UNLOCKD is building the brand across direct-to-consumer e-commerce, digital marketplaces, specialty retail, B2B distribution and emerging retail relationships while expanding Ancient Extracts beyond its original product assortment into functional coffee, K-Cup-compatible formats, matcha, functional lattes and complementary wellness categories.
“Our objective is not to build a single-product mushroom company,” Gorst added. “We believe Ancient Extracts can become a much broader functional wellness platform. Coffee gives us a daily ritual. K-Cups give us convenience. Matcha and functional lattes give us additional consumption occasions. Specialty wellness products expand the basket. Retail gives consumers somewhere to discover and experience all of it together.”
The Company expects to continue pursuing additional specialty wellness, grocery, office, e-commerce and broader retail distribution opportunities as it scales Ancient Extracts in the United States.
About Ancient Extracts
Ancient Extracts is a functional wellness brand focused on developing and commercializing products across functional mushrooms, adaptogens, shilajit, functional coffee, matcha, specialty lattes and related nutritional wellness categories.
The brand is focused on bringing functional ingredients into familiar, repeatable consumer behaviors, including morning coffee, tea, beverages and everyday wellness routines.
Ancient Extracts USA operates through VerdaGenix LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of UNLOCKD Inc.
About Mushroom World
Mushroom World is a specialty wellness retail concept operating nine locations and focused on functional mushrooms and complementary wellness products. Its stores offer a curated assortment of mushroom-based beverages, supplements, tinctures, chocolates, powders and other lifestyle products within a modern specialty retail environment.
About UNLOCKD Inc.
BitFrontier Capital Holdings, Inc., doing business as UNLOCKD Inc. (OTCID: BFCH), is building a public-company platform focused on functional wellness, nutritional health, cognitive performance and emerging consumer brands.
Through strategic acquisitions, product development, operational integration and commercialization, UNLOCKD seeks to acquire and scale products and businesses positioned within growing consumer health and wellness categories.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding anticipated retail expansion, product distribution, consumer demand, product sell-through, development of in-store beverage concepts, ready-to-drink products, additional Mushroom World locations, potential store conversions, potential acquisitions, additional retail relationships, commercialization initiatives, revenue opportunities and the future growth of Ancient Extracts, Mushroom World and UNLOCKD.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions and estimates and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. There can be no assurance that individual retail relationships, product introductions, beverage-bar concepts or distribution initiatives will generate material revenue, that contemplated expansion opportunities will be completed, or that UNLOCKD will enter into or complete any acquisition of Mushroom World or other specialty retail businesses.
Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement except as required by applicable law.
Investor and Media Contact
John P. Gorst
Chief Executive Officer
UNLOCKD Inc.
john.gorst@unlockdinc.com
www.UNLOCKDinc.com
OTCID: BFCH
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