Track III: Health-Driven Innovation: From Science to Consumer Trends
- Panel: Gut Health Insights from Science to Shelf
Johanne Hvelplund, Head of Product & QA - Cocojune
Dr. Richard Day, Vice President, R&D Medical Affairs & Clinical Development - ADM
Dr. Frank Schuren, Senior Scientist Microbiology - TNO Microbiology & Systems Biology
Industry experts explore how probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics translate from research to retail, covering efficacy, consumer communication, taste, and the ingredient strategies driving gut health products into the mainstream.
- MiGut: Taking Gut Microbiome Research from Bench to Business
Dr. William Davis Birch, Research Fellow - University of Leeds & Micromentics
Studying the gut microbiome in a controlled, reproducible way remains a significant challenge for nutrition research. In vitro gut models offer a practical alternative to human trials, but existing approaches often struggle to balance scientific rigour with scalability and industry utility. This presentation introduces MiGut, a novel triple-stage continuous culture gut model developed at the University of Leeds, tracing its development from design concept through to commercialisation. We explore where MiGut sits within the in vitro model landscape and highlight its key design innovations, before illustrating its application across a range of nutrition research studies - including choline metabolism, prebiotic supplementation, and alternative proteins.
- A New Breakthrough Plant-Protein for the GLP-1 Era
Mark Stavro, Global Marketing Director, Protein & Emulsifiers - Bunge
In the GLP 1 era, demand for higher protein foods is rising, yet sensory challenges and the cost burden of traditional plant proteins limit inclusion. PurePro® - a clean tasting, light coloured soy protein removes these barriers, enabling affordable, delicious, higher-protein foods with potential in metabolic health and GLP 1 regulation.
