Probiotics that meet personalized needs continue to shine in the food segmentation track.

“The food industry wants to share in the booming probiotic market by meeting the functional needs of different consumer groups, continuously innovating and developing probiotic products, and producing products with higher added value, which is undoubtedly a good choice.”

China's probiotic industry is in a rapid development stage,probioticswith an average annual growth rate of 15%. In 2020, the sales growth rate even exceeded 20%. As the demand for nutritional and health foods rises year by year, the rapidly expanding market provides more development opportunities for probiotic products, becoming an important driving force for the enhancement and upgrading of the food industry.

Faced with more opportunities and challenges, both new and old brands are vying to establish their presence, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. How to create more popular probiotic products has become the primary consideration for both new and established brands.

Meeting personalized needs, probiotic foods are becoming diversified.

The significant increase in the demand for nutritional health naturally drives probiotic products towards diversification. In recent years, the probiotic food industry has shown a trend of segmentation, with probiotic products gradually being developed for different groups, needs, categories, and functions, such as those targetinggastrointestinal health, immune health, metabolic health, oral health, emotional management, and other areas of probiotic solutions.

Healthy gut—

The Pylopass™ strain can help reduce the number of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach.

The BifFit™ strain can help alleviate symptoms related to irritable bowel syndrome.

Immune health—

The PB-VIR™ strain can enhance antiviral capabilities and improve overall immune levels.

Metabolic health—

The SmartGuard™ strain can help reduce intestinal lead absorption.

Emotional health—

The ProbioBrain™ strain can help relieve stress, promote sleep, and regulate mood.

Oral health—

The BioFresh™4+ strain helps achieve long-lasting fresh breath and supports oral health.

The understanding that specific strains can have effects on specific conditions for specific populations is gradually strengthening. For example, the pioneering research on the ProbioBrain™ strain, which was selected from thousands of strains, is a type of Bifidobacterium that naturally exists in the maternal body, isolated from the intestines of healthy humans. Clinical studies have confirmed that ProbioBrain™ affects the brain and emotions.

Based on consumer needs, there are different product positioning:

People with sleep disorders—promote sleep and improve sleep quality.

Active individuals—enhance vitality and relieve fatigue.

People under stress—regulate stress and alleviate anxiety.

Currently, the ProbioBrain™ strain has been commercialized and is available on many cross-border e-commerce platforms, receiving rave reviews from consumers.

The industrialization of probiotic foods relies on a scientific foundation.

The probiotic market is rapidly developing, with new strains and technologies emerging like mushrooms after rain. Domestic and foreign strain raw material suppliers are also expanding production capacity by adjusting equipment and establishing new factories. However, the rapid increase in production capacity cannot be separated from a scientific foundation. For probiotic foods, both efficacy and safety need to meet continuous requirements in clinical research.

Whether in terms of efficacy or safety, both are based on long-term, continuous clinical research. This is also true for probiotic solutions targeting Helicobacter pylori, which is an important reason why probiotic products containing the Pylopass™ strain are favored by consumers. Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the most important risk factors for gastric cancer, and China is a high-incidence country for Helicobacter pylori infection. The high infection rate in China is mainly influenced by factors such as economic development level, lifestyle habits, dietary structure, and sanitary conditions. Recently, with the release of the 15th report on carcinogens by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), chronic infections caused by Helicobacter pylori have been classified as definite human carcinogens. With the release of the report, people are gradually paying more attention to Helicobacter pylori.

People are eagerly seeking solutions to treat Helicobacter pylori. However, existing antibiotic therapies may have certain side effects, and consumers are increasingly concerned about their health and wish to choose safer, more natural methods.

The Pylopass™ strain is a gentle supplement to existing therapies, with no side effects and no development of resistance or dependence. Therefore, probiotic products containing the Pylopass™ strain are naturally more favored by consumers.

In 1982, Barry Marshall isolated Helicobacter pylori. In 1984, related results were published in The Lancet. In 2005, this discovery won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In 2002, German scientist Christina Lang selected the Lactobacillus reuteri Pylopass™, and in 2006 and 2012, this invention received patents in multiple countries and published several journal articles. In 2013, it was certified for use as a dietary supplement, and since 2017, it has been sold in European, American, and Chinese markets. Looking back at the research and development history of Helicobacter pylori and Pylopass™, the industrial application of probiotics containing the Pylopass™ strain has a scientifically rigorous process, having undergone strain adaptability and safety assessments, and thenindustrializationhas been successfully realized and is well-received.

Summary

As consumer demand continues to increase and scientific research deepens and breaks through, the functionality of probiotics is no longer limited to regulating gut health. More application areas will be developed and focused on, which will inevitably lead to further expansion of the probiotic market. In the face of such a promising outlook and consumer scale, the food industry wants to share in the booming probiotic market by meeting the functional needs of different consumer groups, continuously innovating and developing probiotic products, and producing products with higher added value, which is undoubtedly a good choice.

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