The past 12 months have inevitably led to a changing perception among consumers about what personal health and wellness really mean. Driven by their experiences during the pandemic, consumers have expanded their definition of wellness beyond just physical factors, now viewing mental and emotional well-being as equally important facets of overall health. In conjunction with this increasingly holistic perspective, today’s health-conscious consumers are also becoming more aware of the central role of the microbiome and its impact on their health.
 
The clinical research in this area is growing, with more than 900 peer-reviewed papers available on the subject of the microbiome and health related to human clinical trials, according to a PubMed search.¹ The commercial market is also reflecting this, with a forecasted industry growth rate of 6.9% CAGR over the next five years, reaching a total of $77 billion by 2025.²
 
As consumers make increasingly mindful decisions to promote their physical, mental, and emotional well-being—and look for products to help them address specific concerns—it is crucial that manufacturers understand the factors shaping market demand in order to meet consumers’ shifting priorities.
 
This article discusses the connection between consumer needs and clinical research in the field of microbiome science and examines the implications and opportunities it brings for supplement manufacturers.
 
The Microbiome & Supplements
The human microbiome broadly refers to the complex communities of microorganisms that live in (and on) our bodies. Fueled by the growing body of scientific evidence, today’s well-informed shoppers recognize the links between a robust microbiome and other health areas—and are therefore seeking out products that care for their gut microbiota. Indeed, 57% of U.S. consumers already take supplements to support their microbiome³, while 22% of European adults do so to manage their weight.⁴
 
The physical and emotional pressures of the pandemic have also boosted demand for probiotic or live culture supplements. Almost two-thirds of global consumers now associate these ingredients with immune health⁵, while 24% state aiding mental well-being is the main reason they purchase supplements.⁶ With knowledge of and demand for microbiome supplements still growing, so too are the opportunities for supplement manufacturers, especially those that can connect consumers’ specific health priorities with the latest science-backed research to develop products that really meet today’s consumer needs.
 
Watching the Scales: Weight Management
In February 2021, 52% of U.S. consumers said they were concerned about their weight.⁵ Influenced by the growing awareness that a healthy gut contributes to maintaining metabolic well-being and a more stable body weight, consumers are increasingly seeking out microbiome-based solutions to address these concerns.^7,8
 
Probiotics and live cultures are a popular choice for addressing weight management concerns, with more than half of dietary supplements consumers believing they are helpful for maintaining a healthy weight.⁹ ADM’s proprietary probiotic strain, BPL1 (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145) targets factors related to weight management and metabolic health. Along with its heat-treated postbiotic variant HT-BPL1, BPL1 demonstrates positive effects on multiple metabolic health markers, including waist circumference (HT-BPL1), abdominal fat mass proportion (live BPL1 in children with Prader Willi syndrome over 4.5 years of age) and Body Mass Index (live BPL1) in two clinical trials.^10-11
 
HT-BPL1 also offers increased versatility in applications, such as gummies, sachets, powders and ready-to-drink beverages. This makes it ideal for manufacturers looking to leverage BPL1’s positive effects in functional applications where the inclusion of a live probiotic was previously challenging. ADM has also studied BPL1’s mechanism of action, identifying a molecule that promotes fat reduction in a pre-clinical model.¹²
 
Prebiotic ingredients can also deliver weight management benefits for health-conscious consumers. ADM’s prebiotic dietary fiber, Fibersol, demonstrates support for the gastrointestinal tract, while also contributing to reducing the rise in blood glucose after a meal.¹³ Fibersol is suitable for use in a wide variety of formats, including sachets and functional beverages, making it particularly versatile and effective for targeting consumers’ weight management concerns with on-trend products that fit their busy lifestyles.
 
Proactive & Preventive: Immune Health
The outbreak of COVID-19 saw concerns around immunity reach an all-time high¹⁴; in July 2020, 64% of consumers reported this concern increased.¹⁵ In 2021, 81% of U.S. consumers stated they intended to improve their immune health.¹⁶
 
Research suggests an important role for the gut microbiome in building a strong intestinal barrier and helping to fight infections.¹⁷ Health-conscious consumers are becoming increasingly aware of this, with probiotics and cultures listed in the top three ingredients associated with immune health.¹⁸ This increased awareness and knowledge of the microbiome’s role is driving demand for ingredients that support it.
 
Lactobacillus rhamnosus CNCM I-4036—a live probiotic strain identified by ADM—is one of these solutions. It demonstrates positive effects on an anti-inflammatory marker in a pre-clinical animal study¹⁹, and in inhibiting pathogenic organisms in a pre-clinical in vitro model.²⁰ Volunteers in one double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial displayed significantly increased CD3+,  CD4+, CD25+, and CD127- cells (a common measurement of regulatory T lymphocytes), as well as modulated markers related to inflammation, compared to baseline.²¹
 
Providing Relief: Mental Well-Being
With 63% of North American consumers reporting increased concern for their mental health due to COVID-1915, and 24% of global consumers citing more frequent feelings of depression, there is a rising demand for dietary supplements that can help alleviate anxiety and promote stress relief.²² Alongside this, a growing body of research indicates that microbiome-supporting ingredients could provide potential benefits for mental well-being.²³
 
As 54% of North Americans plan to improve their cognitive or mental health over the next 12 months²⁴, dietary supplement manufacturers are researching the new microbiome ingredients that can potentially address these needs.
 
ADM is currently supporting a clinical study with the University of Oxford involving the use of ADM’s multi-strain ingredient by individuals that suffer from low mood.²⁵ Depending on the outcome, this research could potentially pave the way for further research into mood and mental health, and expand the reach of this new and exciting branch of microbiome understanding.
 
Delivering Today’s Demands, Predicting Tomorrow’s
To stand out in the rapidly shifting dietary supplements market, brands should focus on addressing consumers’ changing health needs, following the growing trend toward a more holistic approach to health and leveraging the microbiome as the “gateway to wellness.”
 
Going forward, brands must spotlight transparency and authenticity in their product offerings, while ensuring they work with experienced ingredient suppliers and formulation experts who can lend their supplements that all-important scientific backing to support their ingredients. 
 
After a year of upheaval and uncertainty, one thing is clear: supplement producers need to constantly keep a finger on the pulse of consumer opinion, and look to harness the power of the microbiome if they wish to create products that are truly primed for post-COVID success.  

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About the Author: Marta Tortajada Serra, Vice President – Science & Technology, Health & Wellness at ADM, is passionate about research and leading in the development of food, feed and specialty ingredient solutions—which she’s contributed to for the past two decades. Her current role at ADM focuses on microbiome and bioactives research, as well as bringing in new probiotic, prebiotic, and postbiotic products. Marta earned a PhD in automatics and systems engineering from the Technical University of Valencia, with a focus on systems biology. She also completed the Executive Development Programme at the IESE Business School.

 
References
1. www.pubmed.gov. Search term (microbiome) AND (health) filtered by Clinical Trial and Humans.
2. The Hartman Group Consumer Research, October 2020
3. The Hartman Group. Functional Food & Beverage and Supplements, April 2020
4. FMCG Gurus: Top Trends for Functional Lifestyle Explored, June 2020
5. The Hartman Group – Health & Wellness 2021: Reimagining Well-being Amid COVID-19
6. FMCG GURUS: Probiotics in 2021, February 2021
7. ADM OutsideVoice Consumer Survey
8. Thomas M. Barber, Stefan Kabisch, Andreas F. H. Pfeier and Martin O. Weickert, The Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre, MDPI, Nutrients, October 2020, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/10/3209/pdf
9. Buzzback, Microbiome Consumer Exploratory Survey, March 2021
10. Pedret. Pedret A, Valls RM, Calderón-Pérez L, et al, Effects of daily consumption of the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp.lactis CECT 8145 on anthropometric adiposity biomarkers in abdominally obese subjects: a randomized controlled trial, Int J Obes (Lond) 43(9):1863-1868, (2019) doi:10.1038/s41366-018-0220-0
11. Amat-Bou. Amat-Bou, M.; Garcia-Ribera, S.; Climent, E.; Piquer-Garcia, I.; Corripio, R.; Sanchez-Infantes, D.; Villalta, L.; Elias, M.; Jiménez-Chillarón, J.C.; Chenoll, E.; Ramón, D.; Ibañez, L.; Ramon-Krauel, M.; Lerin, C. Effects of Bifidobacterium animalis Subsp. lactis (BPL1) Supplementation in Children and Adolescents with Prader–Willi Syndrome: A Randomized Crossover Trial. Nutrients 2020, 12, 3123
12. Balaguer, F., et al, Microbial Biotechnology 0(0) : 1-12 (2021)
13. Approved EU health claim for non-digestible carbohydrates, pursuant to an EFSA scientific assessment.
14. ADM OutsideVoice Research
15. FMCG Gurus: How Has COVID-19 Changed Consumer Behavior
16. The Hartman Group – Health & Wellness 2021: Reimagining Well-being Amid COVID-19
17. Zheng, D., Liwinski, T. & Elinav, E., Interaction between microbiota and immunity in health and disease, Cell Res 30, 492–506 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0332-7
18. FMCG Gurus: What’s next for Immune Health in 2021
19. Plaza-Diaz, J., et al. (2014) PLoS One. 9(5): p. e98401 (study showed L rhamnosus to lower only TNF-alpha)
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21. Plaza-Diaz, J., et al. (2013) PLoS One. 8(10): p. e78111
22. The Hartman Group Consumer Research, October 2020
23. Clapp, Megan et al, Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis, Clinics and practice vol. 7,4 987, (2017), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/
24. FMCG Gurus: The Growth of Personalized Nutrition in 2020
25. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03801655?term=NCT03801655&draw=2&rank=1