With the hashtag #GutTok clocking in greater than 900 million views on TikTok because the beverage girlies incorporate prebiotic sodas into their sleepy girl mocktails and other users chomp on digestive-friendly snacks in between taking their supplements, interest in gut health has never been higher.

The rationale? Post-pandemic, consumers are increasingly more health-conscious, concurrently digestive diseases are on the rise across the U.S., with the National Institutes of Health estimating that between 60 and 70 million Americans are affected. 

“You unfortunately cannot ignore gastrointestinal symptoms they usually occur each day, multiple times a day,” said Sam Jactel, founder and chief executive officer of Ayble, a virtual platform that gives customized nutrition guidance for those with gut health issues. “From the patient’s perspective, that could be a major, major need that’s consistent, that’s painful.”

This has led to an increase in digestive supplements, foods and coverings which differ from typical vitamins, as they address a serious issue for consumers, from those trying to promote a healthy microbiome to those trying to treat more severe diseases, like ulcerative colitis.

And while consumers may look to this category for a spread of reasons, the gut plays a key role in overall wellness. Based on several studies, no less than 90 percent of serotonin (the neurotransmitter related to happiness) is created within the gut. Due to this fact, a healthy gut not only impacts physical health but mental health.

It’s also proving to be an enormous business, with a report from Mintel showing that the USA digestive health market was expected to succeed in $5.7 billion in 2022 and nearly $6.5 billion by 2027. Moreover, 45 percent of consumers have added probiotics to their day by day routine, in line with the firm.

As for what’s on offer, while probiotics are synonymous with the category — and remain some of the popular products in the marketplace — several key trends have arisen which can be driving the digestive health category, including the introduction of postbiotics, the rise of functional foods, using artificial intelligence for a customized nutrition approach and fun, irreverent messaging to attach with consumers. 

Ingredients-wise, postbiotics, which Harvard Health Publishing defines as what’s left after the gut digests pre- and probiotics, are causing essentially the most buzz throughout the overall digestive conversation, with greater than 3 million views on the hashtag on TikTok.

“The subsequent thing that’s coming is postbiotics,” said Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, gastroenterologist, gut health content creator and chief scientific officer at nutrition brand Methodology. “Prebiotics + probiotics = postbiotics. Ultimately, it’s the postbiotics which can be having the effect in your body, so the natural approach to approach that is to only feed your gut… By way of the supplements space, they’re now beginning to work out how one can actually create those postbiotics. It could boost beyond what you’re doing along with your food plan or what you’re doing with a probiotic or prebiotic complement.” 

Whie Dr. Bulsiewicz noted that postbiotics are newer to the category and require more testing to make sure their efficacy, consumers are increasingly thinking about the ingredient, as data from Spate shows that searches for the term have grown greater than 47 percent year-over-year. 

Beekeeper’s Naturals, known for its propolis-infused immunity products, has employed postbiotics through tributyrin in its newest product 3-in-1 Complete Gut Health complement, $45. Based on the brand, this postbiotic is supposed to “fuel the cells that line your gut barrier to diminish intestinal permeability.” 

“Postbiotics are really necessary in understanding an entire picture of the microbiome. It’s good to address all three layers. You would like a prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic,” said Beekeeper’s Naturals founder Carly Stein.

With its 3-in-1 product, Beekeeper’s Naturals, which recently closed a $14 million funding round, can also be choosing a multibenefit approach, as its messaging focuses on the gut microbiome’s impact on skin, brain and immune health. The product also employs the brand’s hero ingredient propolis, which is understood for its immune health advantages. Reports from Mintel show that customers are looking for digestive health products that also provide other advantages, most notably energy, immunity and rest.

Ritual, a complement company, also launched its complement Synbiotic+, $54, which amassed several million dollars in revenue in just a few months, in line with the brand. 

And while brands like Seed, a microbiome complement company, have entered the market focused solely on gut health, experts say digestive solutions will likely be key for wellness brands across the board.

“Plenty of corporations that not necessarily were focused on gut health have made it a staple inside their product portfolio,” said Mark Lacy, an investment banking director at Raymond James, pointing to Ritual as a key example. “When you concentrate on moving forward and the subsequent five years of trends, even the businesses that aren’t initially focused on it is going to have some form of core stock keeping unit.” 

But as consumers are looking for ease through multibenefit products, they’re increasingly in search of the benefit of functional foods and snackable supplements, as pill fatigue continues to be a top concern. Although capsules are still the most important format throughout the vitamin, mineral and complement space, other formats are growing quickly.

BelliWelli, which recently raised $15.4 million, has built its brand on functional foods that don’t hurt the stomach and are secure for those diagnosed with GI conditions. Moreover, as several studies published within the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility show that girls are sometimes twice as prone to experience digestive issues and disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the brand has doubled down on reaching this consumer specifically. 

“What can be a extremely great on-the-go snack that a variety of women would really like?” said BelliWelli cofounder and chief operating officer Tyson Woeste on the impetus of the brand. “It’s going to have these facets of not hurting your stomach, but there’s also this other opportunity of constructing a fun, irreverent brand that pops, that doesn’t take itself so seriously within the aisle.”

Moreover, the brand has doubled down on its irreverent, humorous messaging. For instance, it often uses the tagline ‘Hot girls have IBS,’ which was used throughout its marketing when it launched at Sprouts last 12 months. As this phrase has gained traction, it now has greater than 26 million views on the hashtag on TikTok showing how the taboo around the topic is being broken down.

In the way in which of functional foods, a crop of “better-for-you” prebiotic sodas are also developing a distinct segment throughout the gut health market, including Poppi, Olipop, Culture Pop and Wildwonder. 

Poppi, which is aiming to tackle “big soda” while also making a gut-friendly beverage, employs apple cider vinegar for its digestive health advantages. For functional foods, the goal is twofold: making a product that addresses a difficulty and competing with traditional options in the marketplace. For Poppi, the important thing driver has been taste.

“They [consumers] want something that’s easy to know, it tastes good and offers them the health advantages. It’s that, ‘I need to have my cake and eat it too,” said Poppi cofounder and chief brand officer Allison Ellsworth.

Just like BelliWelli, Poppi’s fun and taboo-breaking approach to the category has garnered brand success — the brand’s vibrant packaging, viral TikToks and influencer support have been key. 

“Our branding, in-store, all the pieces that we do, we lead with taste, flavor and fun. That’s because people love gut health. They need to be healthy, but at the top of the day, they’re not going to sacrifice on taste,” said Ellsworth.

For the brand, which raised $25 million last December, retail has been key. Most notably, the brand is currently available at Goal, Walmart and Whole Foods amongst others, and is anticipated to succeed in 30,000 stores this 12 months.

With functional foods top of mind, dietary brands like Sakara Life and Methodology have put an emphasis on gut health-boosting ingredients of their plans too.

Complement and lifestyle brands are also trying to various formats to handle the growing demand for functional gut solutions, as they launch recent products. For instance, this month TryWell is launching Apple Cider Vinegar gummies, $18, meant to support overall immunity, boost metabolism and lower cholesterol. Several brands, like Hum, Cymbiotika and Goli, even have digestive gummies featuring apple cider vinegar. Arbonne is launching BioticSticks, $45, berry-flavored melt-in-your-mouth probiotic sticks. 

While product innovation is essential for a lot of brands, technology can also be driving the category when it comes to personalization. A slew of brands have launched blood and saliva-based tests to find out food sensitivities, though experts are unsure of their efficacy.

Ayble, a customized gut health app that launched in April, has employed machine learning, together with its gastrointestinal database and demographic and clinical information, to offer users with customized food plan pathways, removing trigger foods. Through machine learning and artificial intelligence, Ayble can ensure its algorithm is becoming stronger over time.

“We’re taking an information science approach to it. We anonymize and we aggregate,” said Jactel. “We use this data that we gather from you as you undergo our program. We use that to tell our recommendations for the subsequent user.”

Ayble is now reimbursed by several insurers and has partnered with brands like Parsley Health to expand its reach.

With an array of products and solutions in the marketplace, experts expect consumers to experiment throughout the category and take a holistic approach when making a gut health routine.

“It’s creating this wellness ecosystem with a basis on prebiotics and the microbiome,” said Lacy, predicting continued innovation within the vitamin, mineral and complement space, together with additional functional foods and services.

Moreover, as this market addresses an ever-increasing medical issue and the stigma around GI issues continues to dissipate, it’s not expected to decelerate, in line with experts.

“There’s still a variety of stigma. There’s still a variety of taboo within the GI space and the indisputable fact that we’re doing research on this space, corporations are coming out and solving the issue,” said Jactel. “That can proceed…. Persons are going to try a variety of various things altogether.”

Key Takeaways: