Future of human nutrition? Healthycell and Panaceutics partner for personalized gel launch

22 Jul 2022 --- US-based Healthycell is partnering with Panaceutics Nutrition to roll out personalized nutrition gel formulas at scale, utilizing individual biomarker readings and predictive analytics. The launch aims to replace dietary supplement pills with nutritional gels in the future.

“Nutrition gels offer a pill-free option for the 40% of people with difficulty swallowing pills. They also offer the benefit of a high ingredient load versus a gummy. They have zero or much less sugar content compared to a gummy. In addition, they offer better taste and convenient single-serve dosing versus a messy poor tasting liquid,” Douglas Giampapa, CEO at Healthycell, tells NutritionInsight.

Industry is experimenting with varied formats, catering to age gaps in a bid to tackle pill fatigue.

The launch is described as the “first outcome-based service” where customers pay a monthly fee for testing and personalized gel formulations that are adapted over time to keep their nutrient levels optimized.

“For the company, it is obviously more complicated than shipping a one-size-fits-all product. For the consumer, we will make it as seamless as possible. Tests taken via at-home kits, results are kept in a simple-to-use portal, formulations change automatically. The customer just takes the tests and gets the nutrients they need in a single daily gel pack delivered to their door.”

The company is seeking to replace supplements in pill form, with gel-based nutrition.“Disruptive technology”
Healthycell’s ingestible gel dietary supplement products can be mixed into drinks or blended into smoothies. “The ability to blend liquid gel with precision is easier than other forms of nutrients such as powder, which allows us to make infinite combinations to create true N=1 personalized formulas,” Giampapa explains.

“The biggest challenge is taste, where we have made many improvements and continue to improve.” The company uses patent-pending ingestible gel technology Microgel aiming to deliver nutrients consumers can absorb.

Looking ahead, Giampapa says the space will eventually evolve to nutritional optimization as a service, which will be outcome-based, taking into account personalized factors such as an individual’s diet, sun exposure, genetics and age. “We are using various technologies in manufacturing and testing.”

Adam Monroe, CEO of Panaceutics, explains the company’s robotic manufacturing technology makes use of 12 patents and is the only system currently capable of delivering customized, pill-free, all-in-one nutrition pouches to consumers. A 30-day supply is built in a few minutes and delivered without refrigeration, directly to the consumer.

“Our disruptive technology uses proprietary robotics, in combination with digital health platforms to rapidly manufacture personalized products at scale to serve individuals’ needs and health conditions.”

Personalization shaping future
Historically, supplement personalization has been based on qualitative data from customer surveys, genomic analysis or static biomarker analysis, which fail to capture physiological outcomes, time variability and externalities such as diet, the company underscores. 

“The future of human nutrition lies at the intersection of three core pillars: superior delivery, nutritional status monitoring and personalization,” Giampapa highlights. 

“First, pill-free, ultra-absorption delivery systems. Second, validation via testing of biomarkers to determine actual rather than hypothetical levels of nutritional status. Third, personalization informed by real-time health data, which enables individualized formulations that match each customer’s nutritional needs.”

Companies across the nutrition sphere are observing technological breakthroughs that are diversifying traditional nutritional mainstays, with new delivery formats emerging as a way to address personalization. A position paper previously spotlighted the bulk of personalized nutrition growth will be in the segment of dynamic digital platforms where mass-market consumers can find information and motivation that fit their personal goals.

By Andria Kades