The gut health revolution: Transforming digestive wellness

11:00 - 11:10 CEST

Welcome address:
Kirstin Knight, Managing Editor, Vitafoods Insights
Radhika Sikaria, Senior Conference Producer, Vitafoods Insights

11:10 – 11:25 CEST

From digestion to whole-body wellness: The next opportunity in gut health

Speaker:
Beatrice Quarella, Senior Account Manager, Innova Market Insights

Synopsis: Gut health is moving beyond digestion to become a wider platform for holistic wellness. Consumers increasingly connect gut health with benefits such as immunity, energy, sleep, mood, weight management and healthy aging, creating new opportunities for food and beverage brands to make digestive wellness more relevant, visible and actionable. As consumer awareness grows, the opportunity lies in translating gut health into stronger product concepts, clearer claims and more differentiated innovation. Ingredients such as fibre, probiotics and prebiotics play an important role in making gut health more accessible and every day, while helping brands stand out in an increasingly crowded functional wellness market.

11:25 – 11:40 CEST

Simulating the human gut microbiome: Advancing digestive science through in vitro models

Speaker:
Dr William Davis Birch, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Leeds

Synopsis: How can the food and nutrition industry generate robust, mechanistic microbiome evidence without the cost and complexity of clinical trials? This presentation explores how MiGut, a triple-stage continuous culture system developed at the University of Leeds, simulates the human colon to generate reproducible, community-level insights that are difficult to obtain in vivo.

I will present two case studies from recent research projects:

• Choline metabolism and TMAO production: Community-level gut microbial responses to dietary choline and implications for cardiometabolic health biomarkers.
• Prebiotic fibre supplementation: Microbiome-modulating effects of a commercial fibre supplement, including shifts in community composition and short-chain fatty acid production.

11:40 – 12:30 CEST

Live Q&A with the audience
Got questions? We’ve got answers! After the presentations, join our interactive Live Q&A to gain deeper insights by connecting with our subject matter experts in real time. This is your opportunity to get answers to your most pressing questions on science, market trends, consumer behaviour shifts, or innovations shaping the industry. Be part of the conversation with fellow industry peers to uncover strategies to stay ahead of the curve.

Speakers:
Beatrice Quarella, Senior Account Manager, Innova Market Insights
Dr William Davis Birch, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Leeds

Moderator:
Kirstin Knight, Managing Editor, Vitafoods Insights

The evolution of digestive wellness: Lessons from two decades of gut health research

Supplier showcase brought to you by Lallemand

12:45 – 13:15 CEST

Speaker:
Philippe Caillat, Strategic Marketing - Category Management Gut Health, Lallemand
Dr Thomas Tompkins, Research Director of Health Ingredients, Lallemand Bio-Ingredients
Dr Wendy Dahl, Professor, University of Florida

Synopsis: The science of gut health is moving faster than ever. As interest in digestive wellness continues to grow, understanding the evidence behind emerging concepts becomes increasingly important. In this webinar, Dr Thomas Tompkins and Professor Wendy Dahl share insights from years of collaborative research exploring the relationships between fibres, the microbiome, postbiotics, and digestive function. Through real-world scientific examples, they will discuss how discoveries are made, how hypotheses evolve, and how new technologies are helping researchers better understand the complex interactions that influence digestive wellness. Join us for a conversation focused on science, learning, and future perspectives.

From Digestive Health to GLP-1: Formulation case study

Supplier showcase brought to you by Natural Remedies

13:30 – 14:00 CEST

Speaker:
Suresh Lakshmikanthan, Chief Business Officer, Natural Remedies
Dr Bharathi Bethapudi, Deputy General Manager (Scientific Affairs), Natural Remedies

Synopsis: This presentation explores the evolving role of digestive health ingredients in metabolic wellness through a formulation case study. It highlights how improving gut health can influence GLP-1 pathways, supporting appetite regulation, glycemic balance, and overall metabolic health. Using a science-backed botanical approach, the session will discuss formulation strategies, mechanism of action, clinical evidence, and product development considerations for next-generation digestive health solutions. Attendees will gain insights into developing innovative, consumer-centric formulations that bridge digestive health and metabolic wellness, while addressing the growing demand for natural ingredients that support GLP-1-related health benefits.