Nourishing People & Planet
As the global food sector innovates to provide healthier, more sustainable solutions, Future Food-Tech San Francisco will spotlight the transformative potential of food and diet in managing and improving health and wellness.
From the rise of GLP-1 solutions reshaping dietary patterns, to developments in reformulation and bioactives to enhance nutritional density, the summit will explore how food innovation is tackling critical health challenges. Additionally, with gut health now recognized as a cornerstone of overall wellness, experts will discuss the latest insights into microbiome research, personalized nutrition, and the potential of gut-friendly ingredients.
Read on as summit speakers from PURATOS, SHIRU, BETTER DAIRY, AYANA BIO, SUPERGUT, BIOHM TECHNOLOGIES and BAY STATE MILLING share their thoughts ahead of taking to the stage on March 13-14.
GLP-1
GLP-1 solutions have rapidly gained popularity worldwide, transforming consumer dietary and nutritional needs. As more people turn to these treatments for weight loss and metabolic health, the food industry is facing pressure to address product formulations and explore new ingredients.
A Rising Impact on the Food System
What do people anticipate the future to look like with these products? Marc Washington, Founder, SUPERGUT details that “although we’re still in the early stages of understanding their full impact on the food system, many companies are actively looking to address consumer needs related to GLP-1s, including nutrient-dense formulations (protein & fiber), portion control, and side-effects management. We’re also seeing the inevitable influx of products making unsubstantiated claims about GLP-1 support without validation or efficacy behind them.”
Ed Fish, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Varietal Solutions, BAY STATE MILLING: “The rise of GLP-1 medications is shaking up the food industry. Consumers are leaning into smaller portions, functional ingredients, and health-oriented options, while demand for high-sugar, low-nutrition foods is declining. Specifically, dietary fiber is in the spotlight for its link to the natural release of the GLP-1 hormone, known for triggering the satiety feeling of prescription weight loss medications. The future points to growing consumer demand for clean-label, fiber-rich, and protein-forward products with clear, evidence-based benefits. To deliver on this emerging trend, manufacturers must innovate with better-for-you options made with functional ingredients like prebiotic fiber and resistant starch that support GLP-1 production, satiety, and overall digestive health.”
Industry Learnings
The trend is expected to have a lasting impact, so how will the industry adapt over the coming months? “The “Ozempic era” is a reminder of the importance of efficacy and functionality in our nutrition products,” tells SUPERGUT’S Marc Washington. “Although some brands are trying to make unsubstantiated claims about GLP-1, consumers increasingly expect more from their nutrition to deliver on the promise and support their health goals. I anticipate a continued shift to quality, functionality, and even validation among nutrition products to support consumers on their weight management journeys.”
Gut Health
Gut health has become a key focus in both wellness and nutrition, with increasing consumer interest in how the microbiome impacts overall health. As research reveals its connection to immunity, metabolism, and mental well-being, more consumers are seeking products that support gut health.
Latest Trends and Solutions Emerging
Following research highlighting the microbiome’s role in overall health including the gut-brain and gut-muscle axes linking to mental and physical well-being, Sara de Pelsmaeker, Group Health & Wellbeing Director, PURATOS illustrates a shift in the approach of the food industry: “Previously focused on individual strains and fibers, the food industry now emphasizes diversity in prebiotics and probiotics. New ‘biotics’ like postbiotics (inanimate strains) and synbiotics (combined prebiotics and probiotics) are enriching formulations for a balanced, healthy microbiome.”
Sam Schatz, CEO, BIOHM TECHNOLOGIES: “Researchers are increasingly exploring the microbiome beyond bacteria, including the full community of microorganisms like yeasts/fungi and viruses (phages). At Biohm Technologies, we are prioritizing the critical role of fungi and how they interact with the bacterial communities in the gut to influence health and wellness. Our Mycohsa™ probiotic blend is clinically studied for such effects.”
How Food Companies are Prioritizing Gut Health
Whether adapting current portfolios or creating new products, growing consumer awareness is driving demand for solutions that promote a healthy gut. Sara de Pelsmaeker, PURATOS tells that the food industry is actively responding to the gut health trend: “Historically led by the dairy segment, gut health features are now emerging in bakery and snacking, with a new focus on nutrient digestibility and bioavailability. Product formulations are enriched with varied fibers from sources like whole grains, pulses, fruits, and even upcycled food waste to address the fiber gap, and probiotics are added where feasible. That’s why at Puratos we invest in the research to accelerate the innovation in the gut health space and support our customers, bakery producers, in making their products healthier.”
Sam Schatz, BIOHM TECHNOLOGIES reveals that companies in the food space are actively incorporating biotic ingredients like probiotics and prebiotics into a wider variety of products, beyond traditional dairy solutions: “We’re now seeing innovative companies expanding beyond probiotics which can present issues with stability, using postbiotics (like heat-treated bacteria) that deliver gut health benefits without the sensitivity to processing conditions. Our Phorum™ postbiotic blend is designed for these types of food and beverage applications.”
Overcoming Bottlenecks in Microbiome Research and Health
The complexity and volume of microbiome data often overwhelms analytical tools, Sam Schatz, BIOHM TECHNOLOGIES spotlighting that more advanced methods are required to accurately interpret results: “Our bioinformatics team is tackling the complexity of gut microbiome data with advanced AI deep learning, leveraging our proprietary datasets to uncover key drivers of health outcomes like aging, metabolism, mood, skin health and much more. We’re pioneering a deeper understanding of the gut’s role in wellness.”
Sara de Pelsmaeker, PURATOS: “High individual variability due to ethnic, geographic, and lifestyle differences complicates general conclusions. Current methods often measure relative rather than absolute microbial counts, limiting accuracy. As it is technically challenging to represent the entire microbiome in its full complexity, there is a need for more advanced research tools. However, due to increased focus and interest in microbiome, the speed of advancement in tools and research is accelerating/promising. We are looking forward to meet some of the solution providers for these bottlenecks at Future Food-Tech in San Francisco and to start collaborating for a gut friendlier future.”
Health Through Stealth
Enhancing nutritional density through reformulation, fortification, and bioactives focuses on reducing unhealthy ingredients like sugar and salt while incorporating nutrients and bioactives to improve overall health.
Challenges in Building a Healthier Food System
Dr. Jasmin Hume, Founder and CEO, SHIRU belives building healthier food systems requires balancing nutrition with sustainable production: “This challenge demands ingredients deliver on performance while meeting health and environmental standards, as shown by growing demand for natural solutions. While traditional R&D can take decades with uncertain results, AI can accelerate ingredient discovery from many to just one or two years.”
Frank Jaksch, CEO, AYANA BIO: “Sourcing high-quality, sustainable ingredients consistently is challenging, especially with climate change, geopolitical tensions, and fluctuating market demands. To address these challenges, new sustainable technologies should be adopted to meet this increased demand for adding nutrition back to food. Advancements like precision fermentation, plant cell cultivation, and regenerative agriculture show promise but face hurdles in scalability, infrastructure, and regulatory approval. These challenges can be addressed through close collaboration and shared goals between consumer product goods (CPGs) and this emerging supply chain.
While UPFs dominate the market due to their convenience, cost, and consumer appetite, incorporating bioactives or fortifying these products with nutrients can be a transitional step toward a healthier food system. Nutritious foods often have higher production costs, making them less accessible to lower-income populations. Bridging this gap requires innovations in the UPF market that can produce healthier foods cost-effectively.”
Improving Nutrient Density While Delivering on Taste
Trishala Bopanna, Director of Strategy & Partnerships, BETTER DAIRY shares that when looking at the first wave of products in the dairy alternatives industry, companies are turning to diversification of plant-sources to improve nutrient density and taste: “These include ingredients like soy, peas and chickpea as protein sources, and various nuts as healthy fat sources. These however come with challenges as functionalities like stretch and melt (e.g., for plant-based cheeses) are limited, and these ingredients carry strong off-flavours that need to be heavily masked by flavour enhancers and stabilizers to improve taste and functionality. This in turn contributes further to the ultra-processed nature of the end-products.”
Frank Jaksch, AYANA BIO emphasizes the need for food to taste good to elicit consumer adoption: “Not compromising on nutritional value can be quite challenging. Using AI and machine learning, companies are beginning to design ingredient combinations that enhance both nutrient density and sensory appeal, ensuring that healthier options taste just as good as traditional ones.
Techniques like microencapsulation can help deliver nutrients in a way that avoids altering the taste or texture of the final product. Other tools include ingredient technology developments like plant cell cultivation and precision fermentation, which are being used to develop healthful plant bioactives, nutrient-dense proteins, and other food components with minimal impact on taste and texture. For example, plant cell cultivation can produce all the bioactives of a blueberry but not impact the flavor given these bioactives do not contain the sugar or taste components of the blueberry.”
Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies
Trishala Bopanna, BETTER DAIRY explains that alternative dairy products often lack the protein content and functionalities found in their traditional counterparts: “And plant-based ingredients have shown limited success at bridging these gaps. Precision fermentation, a technology used to make animal-free rennet and insulin for over 30 years, has recently been leveraged to create dairy fats and proteins. Here microorganisms, rather than cows, are used as mini factories to produce these ingredients.
Precision fermentation can also be used to supplement products like infant formula, that have well-documented deficiencies compared to human milk, with critical bioactive proteins to brain, gut, bone, and immunity development. Such bioactive proteins are found in lower concentration in cows’ milk, so it is difficult and expensive to offer mass market access to them via traditional milk isolation/extraction methods. Precision fermentation can enable wide access to these bioactive for infants and adults alike to drive better health outcomes for all.”
Frank Jaksch, CEO, AYANA BIO expresses that this is not a one size fits all approach: “Each individual has unique nutritional needs, but a significant challenge lies in the lack of exposure to a diverse mix of essential nutrients. This is primarily due to the prevalence of UPFs in modern diets. While UPFs excel in taste, affordability, and accessibility, they are often high in sugar, salt, fat, and calories while deficient in critical nutrients.
Innovations to address these issues are rapidly evolving. For instance, biofortification can increase iron levels in beans, and algae-based technologies are offering sustainable sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Plant cell culture stands out as a reliable tool to consistently reintroduce key nutrients into packaged foods. While it won’t replace fresh fruits and vegetables, it can complement them by making essential nutrients more accessible in a consistent and scalable manner.”
For a program packed with insights and all-important conversations with international food brands, innovators, investors and retailers exploring solutions for food and nutritional insecurity across the global value chain, you need to be at Future Food-Tech in San Francisco on March 13-14.
The Super Early Bird ticket saving expires this week at midnight Thursday PT, so register today to secure your seat at the heart of the action. You’ll save $700 per delegate!
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