Sun Genomics (San Diego, CA), creator of the fully customized precision probiotic Floré, and NZMP (Chicago, IL) have announced an expansion of their existing partnership with the goal of better understanding the health benefits of probiotics. In addition to their ongoing goal of conducting extensive consumer research, the two companies are launching the second phase of a joint clinical trial known as “Project Happy.”
Beginning September 1, 2022, the six-week trial is designed to validate the findings of the brands’ first consumer pilot study that tested NZMP’s LactoB strain HN001 with 52 Floré customers to determine if there were significant improvements in performance. mental well-being and happiness. That study found that after 60 days of consumption with the probiotics, psychological well-being scores on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire increased significantly. The follow-up study will collect additional data on the link between gut health and happiness, this time with a larger cohort of 120 participants.
“We are proud to be working on developing the next generation of probiotics as we uncover new functionalities and health benefits,” said Neal Gidvani, chief operating officer of Sun Genomics, in a press release. “By discovering powerful responses to new strains of probiotics, such as increased levels of happiness, we are adding significant value to our current approach. Ultimately, this allows us to increase our consumer offering and help more people than ever before.”
“After reviewing the results of our first pilot study, we knew it would be beneficial to expand our relationship with Sun Genomics and build on that success,” said Chris Ireland, US business manager for probiotics in the active lifestyle division of Sun Genomics. NZMP. “Since nothing on this scale has ever been done before, we look forward to sharing our findings with researchers and consumers alike.”
According to the 2022 World Happiness Report, the US ranks 16th on a list of 146 countries. To gain additional insights into consumers’ stress levels, mood, and probiotic use, NZMP surveyed more than 1,000 American adults through CARAVAN and found that of the 37% of respondents who reported having stress and mood, 18% said they currently take probiotics to help, and 65% said they would consider it.
