Michael Pan wants to reintroduce your palette to something ancient.

The Vancouver resident is the maker of mushroom jerky. And like a mushroom, he believes, the company is ready to grow seemingly overnight. At food conventions around the country this year, the savory bites have garnered honest and earthly hype.

“People are moving more into reducing meat, whether for health or sustainability,” he said. “It also caters to meat eaters. They say, ‘I eat ribs and steak — but I want to try this.’ ”

With five flavors, new hires on the production side and a deliberate plan for growth, the product known as Pan’s Mushroom Jerky is ready to climb from a niche space to a fully realized product, the 38-year-old entrepreneur said.

The snack is already sold directly to consumers and in several stores, but Pan and business partner Colton Telford are seeking bigger partnerships. Market experts, meanwhile, say the company’s goals will benefit from a generational shift in diets and the increasing consumption of mushrooms.

“Mushrooms are really on trend this year,” Pan said. “But it’s funny, because they’ve been around forever.”