Hot on the heels of Sienna Miller, a high-profile new face hit M&S stores in January. But this was no fashion icon. This was Professor Tim Spector, scientific co-founder of the Zoe personalized nutrition program. Her image was plastered across M&S aisles to promote the Zoe x M&S Food Gut Shot, billed as a groundbreaking new product.
The excitement was on par with any A-lister partnership. M&S held a press conference to talk about the “hard work and hundreds of tastings” that went into the shoot, which included more than five billion live cultures of 14 species of gut-friendly bacteria, as well as prebiotic fiber and “polyphenol-rich botanicals”. M&S product development manager Claire Richardson described working with such scientific expertise as “a dream”.
Is this the world’s best gut shot? Launching today @marksandspencer, a collaboration with ZOE, the world’s leading gut health science company. Developed by @timspector and the amazing product development and food technology teams at M&S, it contains FIVE BILLION bacteria (your gut will love it) pic.twitter.com/6yM0RJ1Vkn
— Sharrycramond (@sharrycramond) January 2, 2024
And it was definitely a dream moment for the launch. Along with all the usual health resolutions that accompany the new year, the news coincided with a series of columns about Zoe’s diet, supported by high-profile interviews with Spector and her appearance in the Netflix documentary You Are What You Eat. The program also received a £2 million investment from Dragons’ Den’s Steven Bartlett last March and has signed up celebrity ambassadors such as Davina McCall, who created a promotional video for Zoe in August.
So does Zoe have the potential to break into the mainstream? If so, how will it change the way UK consumers eat?
The story so far
Zoe has recorded 130,000 subscribers to date. This may seem like a small number compared to the excitement around the show, but Zoe says her subscriber base “continues to grow on a weekly basis.” And there is the opportunity to reach a much wider audience.
“The potential to go mainstream is significant,” says registered nutritionist and wellness expert Clemence Cleave. “People’s awareness that nutrition is the cornerstone of their health, coupled with the many mixed messages in the media about what healthy eating is, and the technological aspect of testing, all make Zoe very attractive.”
According to him, Zoe “stands out in the precision nutrition market”. This is partly because, unlike many of its competitors, it does not focus on genetic or DNA testing.
Instead, the system looks at factors such as blood sugar control, blood fat control, gut microbiome health, diet quality and family/health history. These are determined by a stool test, continuous glucose monitor, and blood fat test.
Potential
Each subscriber is sent a personalized nutrition report via the app based on the findings. This personalization also has the potential to be more accurate. “As Zoe membership grows and therefore data for research analysis grows, the new findings will enable Zoe to update gut microbiome and food scores and further personalize recommendations for individual members through their apps,” the British Nutrition Society states. And Lifestyle Medicine (BANT).
The association sees a clear market for Zoe. “Personalised nutrition puts the power back in the hands of the individual and can deliver positive results in as little as four to eight weeks, all of which increases engagement and compliance,” he says.
But there are obstacles to wider adoption. What matters is the cost. The test kit and report cost £299.99; There is also a monthly membership fee, which ranges from £24.99 to £59.99 depending on the length of commitment.
“This is still an expensive service and many people won’t be able to afford it,” Cleave points out. “Another potential barrier to it reaching a wider audience is, of course, its impact on health and how well people think the advice they receive helps them live healthier lives in the long term.”
Cleave says that “the applicability of these tests to the general population is debatable and highly controversial.” In his opinion, the tests provide a level of detail that few people will need. And despite the personalized nature of the results, the advice given to most people will be “pretty general in some way, emphasizing the consumption of more plant-based foods and fiber.”
gut health
Of course, the program follows some common principles that may apply to all users. For example, improving gut health is a key goal. At the M&S press conference, Spector pointed out common shortcomings in this area. “We have lost about half the diversity of microbes in our gut compared to our ancestors,” he said. In press interviews, he cited this lack of diversity as a key reason behind Britain being the “sickest country in Europe”.
This is not just a health problem; We are the suckers who fund big food companies to make us the sickest people in Europe while we are told everything is under control. Obesity and weight gain cost Britain £98bn a yearhttps://t.co/W2KSbymjjB
— Tim Spector MD (Prof) (@timspector) December 4, 2023
Live bacteria, such as those found in the M&S x Zoe vaccine, are a crucial tool in improving gut health. But you don’t need a branded product to achieve this effect. If Zoe’s message gets through, it could be a boon for brands that focus on gut health as a selling point.
Many such brands are already on the rise. For example, kefir brand Biotiful increased drinks sales by 21% to £35 million [NIQ 52 w/e 9 September 2023]. Bio&Me says sales of its range have increased by over 200% in the past year. This has no doubt been boosted by positive publicity from Zoe’s ambassador Davina McCall, who featured her granola in a video diary of her eating habits.
That’s why Bio&Me co-founder and CEO Jon Walsh is pleased with the attention Zoe has received. “The Zoe app is definitely helping to increase consumer interest and education about gut health, which is great. The more consumers know about gut health, the better.”
plant power
Fermented foods are one way to improve gut health. Eating a variety of plants is one thing. Zoe recommends consuming 30 plants a week to increase the diversity of your gut microbiome.
The recommendation has obvious benefits for foods high in fruit and vegetables. Take Allplants, which creates plant-based, chef-crafted meals. “The Zoe app’s emphasis on plant-based nutrition aligns with the evolving preferences we’re observing that actively seek out ‘vegetable-as-hero’ options over overly processed meat alternatives,” says Lucy Squires, marketing manager at Allplants.
As he notes, this change is already occurring to some degree. According to Squires, Zoe is part of a wider shift in eating habits following programs such as Panorama Ultra Processed Food: Recipe for Diseases, which aired in June. Or Game Changers, a documentary about plant-based nutrition, protein and strength that premiered on Netflix in 2018.
“Fantastic storytelling makes the health benefits of a whole-foods, plant-based diet more accessible, inspiring and easy to understand,” says Squires.
For him, all of this contributes to a re-evaluation of what it means to be healthy. Zoe will also be a part of this revolution. The message is: More fermented foods, more plants, and less processing.