Natural products with revitalising results

Michele Scarce is a Jan Juc mum and businesswoman making the most of her daily coffee.

In September 2020, Scarce launched Tonika, a range of revitalising and energising adaptogens, plant and mushroom powders and creamers to add into your coffee, hot drinks, or food for their health-boosting affects.

The health food powders provide immune and cognitive support, increase vitality, aid weight, stress, and sleep management, prolong energy, and bringing balance to your hormones.

While there is a powder for every life stage, Scarce created Tonika when she was a new mum looking for healthier alternatives to managing sleep deprivation.

“I became a new mum five years ago, my beautiful daughter is five years old and she decided she didn’t want to sleep for the first five years of her life, and I think as well I really struggled with the identity shift from being footloose and fancy free to becoming a mum,” Scarce said.

“I mean, no one can prepare you for that kind of responsibility and life changing scenarios. There was a lot of trauma coming into newfound motherhood.

“This is embarrassing to say, but I was having like four coffees before 7 in the morning and I was like tick-tick-tick-tick, so I felt so sketchy, and it thought there has got to be a better way.

“I’ve also always been involved with health. I’ve always had an interest in health, I have a beautiful Italian mother and we’ve always been like – food from scratch, making food from scratch.

“So being already very healthy and coming from that, I just knew there had to be a way to feel a little bit better, my daughter was waking up at 4 in the morning, and was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy, I can’t survive.”

Scarce said she started to do research into energy levels, and found MCT oil was being used to help balance energy.

“The MCT coconut milk could allow the caffeine to go through your system a little bit slower, for longer, so not getting that crash.”

That was when Scarce started looking into complementary natural energy boosters, and found mushroom powders.

“Lion’s mane is also really good for brain fog, and I thought ‘Well, that is something new mums all have.

“These beautiful ancient herbs, lions’ mane and ashwagandha were fantastic for new mums to balance and bring peace and balance to the stress hormone.”

“So, I started putting lion’s mane into the coffee too with my MCT oil powder.

“I thought ‘Oh my gosh, I actually feel like I can take on the day… well, if this can help me, it can help so many other people, and not just new mums’.”

Adaptogens help support in resisting, adapting and responding to stressors, helping support the immune system, elevate mood, and sustain energy.

“Mushrooms have been used in Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, and we are only just now rediscovering it in the west, but hopefully this trend stays forever,” Scarce said.

She said she next started creating mushroom and MCT powders for Tonika, ready to share her newfound energy.

“We live in such a crazy fast paced world now to be able to bring our bodies like stress hormones back into balance and not overcompensate every other organ in our body, helps us with our immunity, and staying youthful and staying happy.”

Looking to the future, she is in the process of creating a Tonika e-book with recipes for using the powders in hot drinks, soups, protein balls and more.

“It definitely changed my life, and hopefully it will change other people’s lives now too,” she said.

Tonika powers are vegan and keto friendly, gluten and refined sugar free, low carb, and made using natural nutrient-dense ingredients.

To follow Scarce’s journey or discover recipes for Tonika’s mushroom powders, head to the Tonika Instagram at

@tonikaco or tonika.com.au