As has been long understood, the regulatory terrain around consumer marketing and claims is far easier to negotiate in North America than in Europe. As Ford at AIDP puts it: “The path to market is a lot faster, and the ability to talk about health benefits is much more relaxed, though it always has to be based on science.” On the other hand, while consumer awareness of—and interest in—prebiotics from a gut-health perspective is growing, the lack of a regulatory definition is proving to be a category challenge, certainly in the US, Monheit says. “There are those out there calling things like apple cider vinegar a ‘prebiotic’, but it’s not,” he explains. “And not all fibres are prebiotic. And there are prebiotics that are not fibre, such as polyphenols.”
This lack of regulatory clarity is, unsurprisingly, mirrored in consumer understanding, as Monheit’s research has revealed. “When asked, around two-thirds of people got the correct definition of ‘probiotic’, but with ‘prebiotic’, ‘synbiotic’ and ‘postbiotic’, that proportion tails off,” he says. “They may think they know what they are, but much of the time, that isn’t actually the case.”
The path to market [in North America] is a lot faster and the ability to talk about health benefits is much more relaxed, although it always has to be based on science.
Given the increasingly specific modes of action of these products, brand-owners will need to consider how best to explain them. “Marketing and messaging needs to continue to evolve to speak broadly, but for those with an ‘appetite’ – pun intended – let’s describe the dynamics of what’s happening,” he argues.
With more research grappling with these dynamics, the implications could go well beyond consumer communication. “As our ability to understand complex mechanisms continues to increase, this will open up other claim strategies, especially in the US with its structure-and-function claims environment,” says Monheit. One example of ‘complex mechanisms’ can be seen in Lonza’s Resistaid arabinogalactan prebiotic, which is derived from the larch tree. “This was recently shown in a clinical trial to improve gut microbiome balance by reducing the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio, as well as increasing the abundance of Bifidobacterium,” says Durkee. This provides a mechanistic perspective to the prebiotic’s immune health—as well as gut health—benefits, says the company.
How the pandemic is reshaping the probiotic cultures landscape
The overall sense, across different markets, is that the pandemic has left more consumers with a stronger understanding of the preventative health benefits of nutrition, whether through supplements, fortified foods or, for example, fermented products. This applies to the gut just as much as immune or cognitive health.
Ford at AIDP believes that active ingredients from named plant sources will play a more prominent role, as this segment develops. “Food-based products such as our green kiwi have a story behind them, with no chemicals or solvents used in the process, and a powerful enzyme activity, too,” she says. “It’s a nice, holistic approach to gut health.”
“In the future, we’d expect to see more classes of bioactives, whether probiotics, postbiotics or enzymes, for example, to deliver the best health benefits,” says Isermeyer at Novozymes. “After all, one in two consumers suffers from some sort of regular digestive health issue. It may not be growing as strongly as cognitive health, for example, but we see this area as having huge potential.”
The GPA agrees that the role of bioactives will only strengthen. “You’re going to see more combinations: pre- and probiotics, pre- and postbiotic, prebiotic blends, too,” says Monheit. Will consumers pay more for this new generation of product? “That’s yet to be proven,” he admits.