Brands Focused On Improving Gut Health On The Rise In The DTC Space

Testing laboratories and hospitals play an important role in diagnosing health issues, but DTC companies are now entering the fray with at-home diagnostic kits aimed at helping individuals monitor, track, and optimize their health in more preventative-oriented contexts.

Specifically, there’s been a recent uptick in offerings emerging within the gut health space. It makes sense, considering Google Trends data indicates a steady increase in searches for the term ‘gut health’ since 2020.

The uptick in interest in gut health originally began back in 2007 when the Human Microbiome Project researchers started exploring the importance of microbiota for health. Since then, it’s continued to fascinate the scientific community and consumers alike.

One reason for this is that studies indicate gut health management is integral to one’s overall health, as its impacts extend well beyond digestion to influence one’s physical appearance, mood, and more.

In response, DTC brands began capitalizing on the trend and launching wellness products (like gut health supplements) to meet the rise in consumer interests. Many quickly discovered that this couldn’t be a one-size-fits all approach, however.

Since everyone has unique gut flora, companies found that in order to best serve customers, they’d need to lean into the concept of personalized product formulations. At-home gut testing kits are one of the emerging solutions to address this personalization aspect. The main focus of these solutions revolves around creating individualized diet and supplement recommendations.

Viome is one such company that offers this. They send an at-home testing kit (prices begin at $149) to buyers who then provide the required blood and stool samples. From there, samples are mailed off to the company’s lab for testing and analysis where trained scientists analyze them.

After a few weeks, Viome sends back a report with findings based on the provided samples that detail the individual’s gut health, biological age, cellular functioning, immunity, energy, and stress levels. The report also comes with suggestions for diet and probiotics based on testing results.

It’s a lucrative industry to be in: The global human microbiome-based gut health test market was valued at $110.83 Million in 202, and it’s projected to hit $885.52 million by 2030.

What’s fueling that promising projection? For one, the COVID-19 pandemic. As people became (and are still becoming) more health-conscious during the pandemic, microbiome-focused efforts present an interesting avenue for consumers to explore preventative health initiatives.

According to one study, microbiome imbalances can contribute to chronic inflammation and prolong the duration of infection. Taking care of the gut can also prevent viral infections and improve overall health.

Convenience is another reason. Testing kits, in particular, offer this distinct advantage. It’s certainly easier to perform tests at home than going into a hospital.

The home testing industry hasn’t been without controversies, however. For instance, the lack of accuracy it presents outside of a clinical environment is an ongoing issue.

“It’s an exciting time for gut health research, but it’s important that people are aware these commercial tests aren’t validated to give personalized nutrition advice just yet,” said Dr. Megan Rossi, author and founder of The Gut Health Clinic in London.

However, technology advances facilitate the at-home testing industry’s ability to demonstrate improving levels of reliability. Gut experts like Rossi believe that, in general, a deeper understanding of the gut microbiome could increase the validity of stool microbiome tests as they relate to personalized nutrition plans in the future.

But it’s still early. “The test won’t pick up the whole profile of your microbes,” she said. “We don’t even have names for 50% of the bacteria yet.”

Current gut testing kit products may still be a work in progress, but biomanufacturing companies are working to close the gap and wasting no time in discovering new information that can be used to improve or develop their offerings.

This includes Viome, too. The company recently secured $54 million in funding to carry out clinical research on cancer and chronic diseases, an initiative in their fight against chronic diseases using cutting-edge AI-driven techniques for analyzing gut microbiome data.

In short: the increasing interest from the scientific community, investors, and even the general public shows that plenty of retail opportunities exist in this industry.