Breaking the deadlock of homogenization in meal replacement products, heat-resistant probiotics lead brand innovation breakthroughs.

" Meal replacement or probiotic meal replacement, how would you choose? "

First, let's ask a soul-searching question: "Meal replacement andprobiotic meal replacement, how would you choose?"

The 'Little Times' of meal replacement

With the overnight explosion of colorful shake bottles on social media, the term 'meal replacement' officially entered the public's consumer vision. According to Tmall statistics, the sales of meal replacement light food products in 2021 increased by 290% year-on-year, the number of meal replacement consumers grew by 78% over three years, and the per capita annual consumption amount has exceeded 3,000 yuan. Moreover, with continuous fermentation upgrades, according to Euromonitor International data, the scale of China's meal replacement market is expected to reach 120 billion yuan in 2022.

Faced with this 100 billion scale meal replacement market, in the past two years, more well-known traditional brands and emerging brands have actively entered the meal replacement industry. According to the "2020 Meal Replacement Light Food Consumption Insight Report" released by CBNData, the number of meal replacement brands in China was 2,837 in 2019, increasing to 3,540 in 2020, with the overall industry market scale maintaining over 15% growth year after year.

As many capital investments favor this sector, the number of players in the meal replacement market has increased, leading to a more serious phenomenon of product homogeneity. The lack of innovation in product strength has resulted in consumers being unwilling to pay for 'meal replacements'. How to actively seek innovation is a pressing issue that the meal replacement industry needs to address.

Probiotics for weight loss & relieving constipation, perfectly addressing the pain points of meal replacement consumers

In a consumer survey report on meal replacement usage, 'weight loss, muscle gain, and body shaping needs' became the main reasons for purchase. After consumers experienced meal replacements, constipation became the most frequently reported issue. The reason is that meal replacement powders are too finely processed, and such foods are quickly absorbed by the body once they enter the digestive system, resulting in less food residue, especially if one does not exercise frequently after eating, which can weaken intestinal peristalsis and lead to constipation. Probiotics can perfectly solve the above problems:

Probiotics and weight loss: According to a study led by Jeroen Raes (VIB-KU Leuven) and Professor Clement (INSERM) published in the authoritative journal "Nature", the causes of obesity are related to the disorder of gut microbiota. Probiotics, as one of the most important influencing factors of gut microbiota, are closely related to it. Supplementing probiotics can regulate gut microbiota, restore the gut microbial environment to normal, enhance the body's metabolic capacity, and thus reduce obesity.

Probiotics and relieving constipation:Probiotics can closely bind to intestinal mucosal epithelial cells, forming a microbial protective layer that resists the colonization of harmful bacteria in the gut and inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria. At the same time, probiotics produce lactic acid, acetic acid, and other organic acids during metabolism, lowering the pH of the gut, creating an acidic environment that promotes normal intestinal peristalsis and relieves constipation.

Professor Kevin Whelan and his colleagues from the Department of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences at King's College London conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of probiotics on functional constipation patients' GTT, stool elimination processes, and constipation symptoms, with results published online in the Am J Clin Nutr journal. Statistical research showed that probiotics can shorten the transit time in the rectum and sigmoid colon by 4 hours, especially Bifidobacterium lactis can shorten it by 4.8 hours. Probiotics can increase the frequency of bowel movements by 1.3 times per week and improve stool consistency, making it softer.

Additionally, as research deepens on the gut microbiota and the gut-brain axis, more functions are being discovered. In the main target group for meal replacements—office workers—probiotics' ability to alleviate emotional anxiety and depression is also being confirmed. Therefore, adding probiotics to meal replacements, allowing consumers to benefit from every meal, and leading the functional upgrade of meal replacements is a great direction.

Breaking through the 100℃ high temperature, Bacillus coagulans provides consumers with a 'warm' probiotic meal replacement.

Probiotics are not heat-resistant, which is the last barrier preventing the addition of probiotics to meal replacements. Boiling water at high temperatures is enough to wipe out probiotics.

Heat-resistant probiotics---Bacillus coagulansgrows in a dormant spore state in the stomach, forms nutrient cells in the duodenum, and proliferates in large numbers in the small intestine, exerting probiotic effects such as antibacterial and immune enhancement. The entire growth process perfectly avoids high-temperature preparation, as well as the invasion of gastric acid and bile salts, with a survival rate of 96.4% at 100℃ for 10 minutes; a survival rate of 95% under acidic conditions at pH 3.0 for 2.5 hours; and a survival rate of 85% under 0.3% bile salt conditions for 2 hours.

The heat resistance of Bacillus coagulans makes the combination of probiotics and meal replacements a reality, and it is very likely to capture the current hot application trend in the probiotic market, allowing meal replacement brands to stand out among many homogeneous products and become stars in the meal replacement market.

Currently, this product sector is still vacant.

Science popularization: The king of bacteria--Bacillus coagulans

Bacillus coagulans was officially included in the "List of Bacterial Strains That Can Be Used in Food" by the National Health and Family Planning Commission in 2016, and has experienced rapid development in the past five years, with an average annual compound growth rate of 19.80% in domestic innovative foods and health products, winning the championship in the growth rate of probiotic product usage. Compared to the U.S. market, the product innovation usage rate of Bacillus coagulans in China is only 1/14 of that in the U.S., indicating a huge market space for its application.

Currently, with the joint efforts of domestic and foreign Bacillus coagulans manufacturers, it has begun to be applied by major brands in snacks, breakfast cereals, juice drinks, baking, candies, and other products.

Some products using Bacillus coagulans

Finally, starting product innovation centered on consumer needs is the only way to achieve true innovation breakthroughs in meal replacements. The combination of heat-resistant probiotics Bacillus coagulans and meal replacements will unleash endless potential.

Returning to the soul-searching question, "Meal replacement or probiotic meal replacement, do you know how to choose?"

Source: Foodaily Daily Food (WeChat ID: foodaily), authorized for reproduction.