While Kerry already offers several probiotic solutions, breaking into the postbiotic space with its new rice-derived Lactobacillus casei subsp. 327 ingredient will allow the firm to offer further variety for manufacturers and therefore consumers.
“Postbiotics are a rapidly growing space in the health and wellness industry due to their resilient and shelf-stable nature, which leads to innovative formulation opportunities,” Jordan Dow, vice president at Kerry ProActive Health, told NutraIngredients.
The ingredient has been formulated to be effective at the low dose of 100 mg for skin health, to offer increased versatility for a variety of supplement formulations, Dow added.
Holistic healthy aging
Plenibiotic works by targeting the gut-skin axis, a growing area of interest for consumers.
“Because of the interconnection of the gut and other body systems like skin, benefits that support digestive health can in turn provide benefits for those interconnected systems," Dow said. "While research is ongoing into this interconnection, consumers have become more aware of the link between maintaining digestive and skin health as a component of healthy aging."
The number of supplements globally promoting skin health has tripled in the last five years according to a 2023 Innova Trends Survey. The same research shows that 75% of consumers consider healthy aging a priority, and a third of those consumers are actively pursuing this goal starting at age 30.
And the link between digestive and skin health has become a key concern for those focused on healthy aging, with 55% prioritizing digestive health also expressing an interest in skin health (Kerry Proprietary Research - Proactive Health, 2024).
"We need to radically rethink the role supplements can play in consumers’ lives by focusing on ingredients that enable a more proactive approach to health and wellness," Dow said.
The gut-skin axis
Scientists are learning more every day about the role of the gut in multiple systems in the body.
Postbiotics are suggested to contribute to the maintenance of healthy skin through the stimulation of the immune system, enhancing the production of skin barrier components, and modulating skin inflammation.
In one digestive health study, participants consuming Plenibiotic showed a significant increase in the frequency of defecation (time/week) and defecation days per week compared to placebo. And in a skin health study involving participants with a high level of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), those consuming Plenibiotic showed a significantly lower level of TEWL compared to the placebo group.
The launch of the rice-derived postbiotic is the final stage in proceedings after Kerry signed a commercial agreement with Japan-based Kameda Seika to market and distribute the company’s rice-derived postbiotic exclusively in America and Europe in 2022.