Next dimension of personalized nutrition? Startup Baze pushes into US dietary supplement market
Launched in Berlin, Germany, with US offices in Cambridge, MA, co-founders Schulte and Isam Haddad, PhD, founded Baze to improve the impact dietary supplements could actually have on an individual’s health status.
According to Schulte, studies repeatedly show that nutrition is among the most important indicators of controllable factors of certain health outcomes yet most consumers still have a rudimentary understanding of their individual nutrient needs.
“We are all different in terms of our DNA and our lifestyle,” Schulte said, explaining that just because two people are advised to take a vitamin D supplement doesn’t mean they will absorb it in the same way.
“When it comes to your health, when it comes to optimum nutrition, you don’t want to just take a one-size-fits-all approach, it should be really looking into your nutrient levels and making sure you get the levels that you need,” he continued.
The other issue with the dietary supplement market is that consumers don’t necessarily know with certainty if their daily dose of supplements is having any impact on their personal nutrient status without visiting a healthcare facility for basic blood testing.
“Back at the time [in 2014,] this was a missing puzzle piece,” Schulte told NutraIngredients-USA.
“By far the most important health data is blood; this is the window to your body and the current snapshot of your health nutrient status.”
Schulte and Dr Haddad determined that the most effective way to solve for this pain point would be to bring the blood testing experience to the consumer.
How it works
Baze users receive a blood-testing device that collects three to four drops of blood from the arm, which is sent back to the company’s blood testing lab where it runs analysis on key nutrients including selenium, magnesium, copper, omega-3, vitamin B12, vitamin E, zinc, and vitamin D.
Users also fill out their nutritional goals and current health status via the Baze app which, combined with tested blood nutrient levels, feeds into an algorithm compiled by the startup’s team of nutrition scientists to configure a personalized, supplement pack sent to the user for $79 per month.
“We have invested into the convenience of the blood sampling process,” Schulte said. “We are basically optimizing the process.”
Baze customers are also provided with a granular look at their micronutrient status based on their blood sample to determine if there are any nutritional gaps.
Schulte added that users are encouraged to regularly test and send in their blood samples in order to better tailor their monthly personalized supplement supply.
“It really is a transparent model that aims to give you data and make sure that you see and get to experience the impact,” he said.
US market progress
While new to the US, Schulte said “hundreds of users” have signed up for Baze and he expects that number to rise by the end of the year when the company will launch formal marketing efforts. But for now, it is taking a deep dive into understanding its US consumer base.
Baze is currently setting up a lab in the US where it will conduct its blood testing for its growing US subscribership.
“We want to spread the story on why this personalized, blood based approach really is the next dimension to dietary supplementation,” Schulte said.
