The Gut-to-Brain connection? Probiotics may be your next mental wellness supplement

Edited by Christian Thompson

Hello readers, and welcome back to this week’s inflection point. This week we are covering probiotics and what has driven the growth behind the bacteria often associated with gut health. We will do a deep dive on our platform to see what is driving this trend and where it is going.

Probiotics are live bacteria or yeasts that are good for you, especially your gut health. People often associate bacteria as an agent of disease; however, our bodies are full of both “good” and “bad” bacteria. Probiotics are part of the “good” bacteria because of the gut health benefits, such as a boosted immune system, digestion aid, and reducing inflammation. Probiotics are found in various foods, such as yogurt and other fermented foods. Consumers also take probiotic supplements to ensure their digestive tract stays healthy. Since January 1st, 2020, the impact score for “Probiotics” has increased by 3387%. The future estimate predicts continued growth over the next year. During this same time, the impact score for “Probiotic Supplements” increased by 2116%. Both trends have experienced rapid growth over the past couple of years, but the question remains: what is driving this growth?

Probiotics have been a popular supplement for the past few years, but what has been driving this growth? The short answer: the gut brain axis. You may not have heard of the gut brain axis, but it represents the linking of emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal function. It is the link between the brain and your gut and illustrates the impact your gut health can have on your brain. This is important because new studies and research have shown that gut health can influence mood, cognition, and mental health. The gut brain axis has changed how consumers view probiotics because of the added mental benefits. Now, it is not just about bettering your gut health but also about taking care of your brain and mental health.

We believe the relationship between the brain and gut helped spur the growth of probiotics. Since January 2020, the impact score for “Gut Brain Axis” has increased by 566%. The future estimate predicts continued growth for the coming months. During the same period, the signal for “Gut Health” in the context of “Gut-Brain Axis” increased by 295%. This association had a high connection strength with the search term. The connection strength represents how often the two terms are discussed together in digital conversation. What products and companies benefit from the increased consumer energy surrounding probiotics?

Personalized probiotics seem poised to capitalize on the increased traction behind probiotics. Personalized supplements have gained popularity due to the custom aspect of the product. Every human has a different body with different needs; thus, many companies are looking to help solve this problem by providing a custom solution. Since January 2020, the impact score for “Personalized Probiotics” has increased by 2807%. The future estimate predicts both growth and decline throughout the following year. Some companies that are playing in the personalized probiotic space are Floré and Viome.

Another product line that stands to gain from the growth of probiotics is probiotic drinks. These drinks can occur both naturally and as a supplement. Drinks that possess fermented properties, such as kombucha, are great natural ways to increase to good bacteria in your gut. Another way to gain good bacteria from drinks is to take a supplement drink, such as Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is a supplement company specializing in making a nutrient-dense drink with probiotic benefits. Since January 2020, the impact score for “Probiotic Drinks” has increased by 703%, and the future estimate forecasts the signal to remain steady throughout the following year. Probiotics are on top of the mind of consumers because of the various benefits they provide when taken. We believe this supplement trend will continue to grow into the future.

We hope you enjoyed reading this week’s inflection point and learned a thing or two about gut health and probiotics. Make sure to tune in next week, and have a great weekend.

Cheers!

About NWO.ai
NWO.ai's predictive platform enables leading Fortune 500 companies and government agencies to anticipate and track global cultural shifts by aggregating, analyzing, and producing actionable reports on human-generated data. We are leveraging petabytes of external, noisy, and unstructured data from various sources –including search, social media, blogs, news, patent databases, and SEC filings and we are continuously adding more sources. Our mission is to answer the what, when, and most importantly, 'why' behind a consumer trend and enable our customers to detect these shifts as early as possible.

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