dsm-firmenich unveils science-backed longevity innovations at Vitafoods Europe 2026

As demand for healthy aging solutions continues to grow, dsm-firmenich will showcase new longevity solutions and science at next week’s Vitafoods Europe 2026 trade show in Barcelona, Spain. The company says it will present “landmark science” supporting healthy longevity, health expectancy solutions in premix and market-ready formats. 

Nutrition Insight meets with Anneleen Spooren, SVP Innovation, R&D & Regulatory, Health, Nutrition & Care, at dsm-firmenich, to explore the company’s longevity focus at Vitafoods Europe 2026. 

“The science we’re presenting — from slowing biological aging to targeting the key hallmarks of aging — represents a genuine leap forward for the category, and we want attendees to see what that means in practice in our immersive experience.”

The company will spotlight innovations at the show’s New Products Zone and Tasting Center, which are designed to target four hallmarks of aging: cellular senescence, chronic inflammation, gut dysbiosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Spooren says these solutions enable brands to respond quickly and confidently to growing market needs for healthy longevity products.

She also highlights key trends dsm-firmenich expects to shape the health expectancy market in the next few years.

“First, preventative health will continue to accelerate as consumers look for proactive ways to stay healthier for longer, not just address issues once they arise. We’ll also continue seeing a shift toward more holistic, ‘stacked’ interventions — multi-ingredient, multi-benefit solutions designed to target multiple aspects of healthy aging at once.”

“What’s more, demand will keep rising for science-backed products with robust evidence and clinically validated claims, as brands and consumers alike look for credibility and measurable outcomes in the longevity space.”

Key hallmarks of aging

Spooren touts dsm-firmenich’s science-backed approach to better understand the aging process from a cellular health perspective, leveraging research to unlock new possibilities for targeted nutritional interventions.

Anneleen Spooren, SVP Innovation, R&D & Regulatory, Health, Nutrition & Care (image credit: dsm-firmenich).“By focusing on fundamental processes at the cellular level, we’re developing solutions that tackle four key hallmarks of aging for greater health expectancy.”

These hallmarks include cellular senescence, chronic inflammation, gut dysbiosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

“As damaged (senescent) cells accumulate with age, they create a pro-inflammatory environment that affects surrounding tissue, leading to dysfunction and impaired regeneration,” explains Spooren. “To address this, our innovation — Cellular Repair — selectively eliminates senescent cells at their source, without harming healthy ones.”

Meanwhile, she notes that a prolonged and persistent inflammatory response increases oxidative stress and accelerates cellular aging, contributing to age-related disease development. “We’re tackling this with our Age Slower innovation, which takes a targeted nutritional approach to help the body regulate this critical process.”

Spooren explains that as people age, microbial diversity declines while harmful pathogens increase, weakening gut barrier integrity and triggering systemic inflammation, leading to gut dysbiosis.

“This imbalance impacts digestion, immunity, metabolism, and cognitive health. We’ve innovated a solution which combines prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics to restore microbiome balance and strengthen gut resilience to extend health expectancy.”

Regarding mitochondrial dysfunction, she details: “When mitochondria fail to generate enough energy, manage oxidative stress, and regulate cell function, it can lead to cellular damage, aging, and various age-related diseases. We have an innovation in the pipeline that will address this final hallmark of the aging process.”

Product innovations

In the New Products Zone, dsm-firmenich will feature its “breakthrough innovation” Age Slower, which targets chronic inflammation.

“It’s supported by landmark DO-HEALTH trial research, Europe’s largest healthy aging trial,” says Spooren. “Published in Nature Aging, the findings offer compelling evidence that the combined intervention of targeted nutrition, using our hero omega-3 and vitamin D ingredients — life’s Omega 60 and Quali-D — combined with lifestyle interventions such as exercise can slow biological aging by approximately three months over three years.”

The DO-HEALTH study, led by the Swiss University of Zurich, found that taking one gram of omega-3 daily for three years slowed biological aging by 2.9–3.8 months on average, among 777 participants. Combining the fatty acid with vitamin D and exercise showed additional benefits.

We explored dsm-firmenich’s Longevity Shift experience at last year’s SupplySide Global trade show.Meanwhile, dsm-firmenich’s Cellular Repair innovation targets cellular senescence, in which cells create a pro-inflammatory environment that can contribute to aging and age-related diseases.

Spooren explains that senescent cells lose function and secrete molecules that damage neighboring cells. “However, our solution harnesses the power of natural flavonoids with senolytic properties that selectively eliminate senescent ‘zombie’ cells without harming healthy ones.”

Visitors at Vitafoods Europe 2026 can taste the ingredient at the show’s Tasting Center. The company will showcase Cellular Repair in an on-the-go format with Easysnap, one-hand opening technology. 

The Longevity Shift

Launched at last year’s SupplySide Global, dsm-firmenich will bring its interactive installation “The Longevity Shift” to Vitafoods Europe 2026. Spooren says this experience is designed to fundamentally reframe how the industry thinks about longevity: “From how long we live to how long we stay healthy.”

“We want to highlight the nutrition industry’s need to shift from life expectancy to health expectancy and focus on science-backed approaches to support health in later life. Looking ahead, this change in mindset — combined with our unique Health Expectancy Solutions — will lead to the development of preventative health products rooted in science that ensure our later years are some of the best.”

Spooren says the company’s next steps focus on advancing the science behind its products while accelerating how quickly customers can bring products to market.

“We’ll continue to support and build the evidence base for healthy longevity and health expectancy — building on landmark research such as the DO-HEALTH study — while also translating those insights into scalable product development.”

The company will expand its portfolio of Health Expectancy Solutions in premix and market-ready formats, to help brands move faster from concept to launch, says Spooren.

“Looking ahead, we’re also progressing our next innovation targeting the final hallmark in our framework — mitochondrial dysfunction — to further strengthen a truly comprehensive, science-backed approach to healthy aging,” she concludes.