AG1 execs on balancing foundational nutrition with personalization

Amid an expanding personalized nutrition market, AG1 maintains its focus on its all-in-one supplement powder mix with continuous formulation upgrades. Nutrition Insight meets AG1’s CEO, Kat Cole, and chief science and nutrition officer, Ralph Esposito, to explore how the company’s single product strategy fits an evolving demand for personalized solutions and discuss AG1’s latest product developments. 

The company’s drink powder contains a mix of micro- and phytonutrients, whole foods, and biotics that prioritize gut health for overall well-being and is designed as an addition to a healthy diet. 

Although consumers can access a growing product offer of personalized nutrition solutions, Cole says there is room in the market for both tailored and all-in-one solutions. She is “excited about personalization and what it can mean for the accuracy of supplementation.” 

“As more testing is available and access to information on personalization and people’s bodies, biomarkers, and gut health grows, so too will personalization. But even if personalization outgrows the more aggregated form factors, we still have a place in the personalization journey on a year-over-year basis.” 

Foundational versus personalized nutrition

She notes that some people have the means, resources, desire, access, and discipline to go “hyper-personalized,” which she says often means taking several individualized pills, tinctures, and powders. 

“On the other hand, some people would rather start with a base layer of something that would be more efficient, high quality, and with clinical proof behind its absorption, bioavailability, and impact on the gut.” 

With its mix of nutrients, Cole says that AG1 can be part of consumers’ personalized stack, replace personalization, or be a first step in their supplementation journey. 

Cole says the AG1’s powder form helps people stick to their routine, as cells require daily replenishment.“AG1 is a great source of B vitamins, so I don’t need to take an additional B complex,” she shares. “AG1 is a great source of foundational phytonutrients, and so I don’t need a separate superfood or greens powder, and my gut health is well supported with AG1’s prebiotics and probiotics, so I don’t need additional gut health support.” 

Moreover, consumers may sometimes need additional health support and temporarily add specialized supplements. 

New product launches

Cole says it is uncommon for large companies to focus on one hero product, but AG1 will continue down this path. 

“It’s refreshing in a world of companies that sell you more and more products, which takes more packaging — it’s not good for the planet, and it’s not necessarily the easiest routine to keep up with.”

At the same time, the company is getting ready to launch new products. “After years of continuous development, research, and building up our clinical and supply chain capabilities to support the future, we will launch the next iteration of AG1 this year that will include some upgraded ingredients, continuing that path.”

The personalized nutrition market benefits from an increased access to testing and information on nutrition’s impact on people’s bodies and biomarkers.Cole also teases that AG1 will launch additional products for the first time. “We speak to a customer who appreciates the quality and simplicity of AG1, but we also know, given our supply chain and research capabilities and our knowledge about nutrients and gut health, that there are other things we could bring to the world that leverage our capabilities and meet needs in a research-backed way.”

Moreover, the company is moving from direct-to-consumer sales to more traditional retail, for example, launching on Amazon. “We will be meeting customers where they are so they can taste it, try it, touch it, and feel it and move more into the mass consumer environment,” she adds.

Formulation updates

Esposito says that AG1 has continuously upgraded its formula since its launch in 2010. These updates are guided by the “latest research on ingredients and nutrition to provide customers with better efficacy, higher quality, and consistent taste.” 

For example, in 2012, the company transitioned to methylated forms of folate and vitamin B12 for improved bioavailability. In 2016, AG1 incorporated the adaptogen rhodiola into the product, which is shown to boost energy and manage stress. 

“We have a diverse in-house team of doctors, scientists, and researchers spanning microbiology, immunology, nutritional sciences, and integrative medicine that are committed to keeping our formula on par with leading research,” details Esposito. 

Cole adds that AG1’s continuous improvement process also considers research on whether most people can benefit from an addition, an ingredient’s safety profile, and supply chain developments. 

Esposito says that AG1’s formulation upgrades are guided by research on ingredients and nutrition to provide better efficacy.For example, she says that rhodiola wasn’t added until the company could access it at scale. “We could produce it in a way that would protect its quality, and we could get it in the formula in a way that would still be efficacious but synergistic among the other ingredients there.” 

“Then there’s a taste element to our continuous improvement because we don’t have an artificial flavoring process,” Cole continues. “These are plants, and some have a strong taste. Our team eats, sleeps, and breathes this; they taste all these raw materials.” 

Scientific basis

Esposito emphasizes that all AG1 ingredients are backed by peer-reviewed literature. 

“Additionally, we have worked with third-party experts to conduct studies and research to further validate the benefits of AG1 as a whole, beyond the research and studies for ingredients.” 

This set of pilot studies included in vitro studies, for example, finding 4.4 times more minerals available for absorption in AG1 than a multivitamin tablet. Cole adds that participants in an observational study on the supplement reported positive impacts on energy, digestion, mood, mental performance, and skin. 

She details that a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled human trial proved, among others, that AG1 “increased the presence of beneficial bacteria by three times.”