Clodagh Evans, International Graduate, Marketing and Communications, Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board
Everyone knows about probiotics and prebiotics but what is the growing trend of postbiotics all about?
Postbiotics provide all the benefits of probiotics without the technical challenges. This food alert aims to discuss this trend within the food and drink space as well as looking at opportunities for such products to make claims beyond the usual gut health.
According to Mintel, postbiotic is a new term for dead bacteria and their beneficial metabolites which could be key regulators of gastrointestinal health while also helping to decrease inflammation and boost immunity. In certain categories particularly food and drink it can be difficult to keep probiotics viable which is why postbiotics should be exploited within the industry. (Mintel, 2019)
Who is leading the way?
Bronnen Asia's BioAXTive's postbiotic avoids the product development challenges that previously would have been faced with probiotics. Their postbiotic is heat stable, pressure stable and shelf stable as well as being easy to blend in food and drink products and does not ferment finished products due to the absence of live or active cultures. This has resulted in a number new food product launches in the market containing postbiotics. For example D’Lanier Chocolates have launched the “World’s First Artisan Chocolate Pearls with Postbiotics” as well as Little Green Bee’s Lactopro 4 which is Trigona Honey containing both Pro and Postbiotics.
These product launches, along with increased interest in postbiotics on social media, are highlighting the growing importance of this trend within the food and drink industry. Interest in postbiotics on US social media has seen a 91% increase from July 2018 to July 2019 (See image above) (Mintel, 2019).
Implications for Irish Suppliers
As consumers become more aware and educated on the topic, food and drink brands should look for ways to introduce postbiotics into their product range and explore opportunities beyond gut health into areas such as mental and cognitive health. New research being carried out on the subject of the gut-brain axis tells a promising story for food and drink brands willing to explore the area of postbiotics.
Bord Bia’s Functional Food and Beverages Playbook identifies brain health as one of the top 4 areas of focus for functional food and beverage innovation. This playbook mentions the idea of harmony which is about enhancing the connection between gut and brain under which “New Biotics” is suggested as a unique and up and coming pathway towards this sure to be growing trend opening up plenty of opportunities for suppliers to make functional claims (Bord Bia, 2019).
How can the Irish Food and Drink Industry learn from this?
- The emerging postbiotics trend helps us to understand evolving consumer needs in relation to functional food and beverages.
- Postbiotics present suppliers with the opportunity for new functional claims beyond the usual gut health particularly in the area of gut and brain health combined.
- Postbiotics offer all the benefits of probiotics with the added benefits of being heat, pressure and shelf stable. They also blend easily into food and drink products and do not ferment the finished product. Food and drink brands should therefore be looking for ways to introduce postbiotics into their product range.
References:
Mintel (2019). Support the microbiota with functional food and drink.
Bord Bia. (2019). The Bord Bia Functional Food and Beverage Innovation Playbook- 2019. Retrieved from https://www.bordbia.ie/globalassets/bordbia.ie/industry/marketing-reports/consumer-reports/functional-food-and-beverage-innovation-playbook-june-2019.pdf