This blog is intended for B2B use and is for educational purposes only. Please note that information contained below should not be read as medical advice.
Global health attitudes are changing, with major impacts for the commercial health, nutrition and pharmaceutical sectors.
People are more connected, proactive and engaged with their health than ever before, and a large factor in this is how they are getting the information and where they’re looking for it – in other words, health, like many other industries, has an increasing focus on digital.
Research has shown that credible influencer marketing can play a fundamental role in public health, bringing together the worlds of nutrition and social media. 59% of survey participants followed social influencers on social media platforms, and 32% of participants reported that social media influencers motivated them to make healthier choices. However, with this rise in health-based social media accounts, it is ever more essential to ensure that sources are suitably qualified to give accurate information.
Given the sheer number of nutrition influencers, from nutritionists and dietitians to health enthusiasts, health and diet information is now easier to access. This is especially true for younger individuals, whose buying behaviour is significantly affected by influencers due to their extensive use of social networks to exchange experiences and gather information.
How is the consumer-health relationship becoming more proactive?
Accessibility has been a huge driver in the more proactive consumer-health relationship due to the difficulties that many individuals face in reaching out to their various healthcare providers for advice around nutrition and wellness.
Backlogs and disruptions in healthcare over the past couple of years have meant that many have turned to digital platforms for information and education around nutrition.
The shift in health communication as a result of influencers is becoming increasingly important, particularly amongst younger individuals who have access to a different range of authority figures through the use of social media. Primarily, social media influencers can help to persuade individuals to make healthier diet choices through attitude alignment and a level of social connection for a vast number of the UK population.
To put this into perspective, the UK was home to 57.6 million active social media users as of February 2022, which is a social media penetration rate of 84.3% of the population of the UK.
Though studies have shown that many influencers promote ‘less than healthy’ food and beverages, findings from additional research have also suggested that social media can be used as a way to encourage healthier eating through exposure to healthy food images on social media that is endorsed by engagement.
How can brands leverage influencer-led health on social media platforms with their formulations?
The goal for many brands and influencers alike is to make health easier, more accessible, and ultimately, more achievable.
With this goal front of mind, there is an opportunity for prebiotic supplements, and an exciting chance for health and nutrition brands to capitalise on the soaring potential of the category. The critical point is ensuring partnerships promote credible and proven science connected to health benefits, as this is of paramount importance for consumer trust purposes and the industry.
To see an example of how prebiotics specifically could be leveraged as social media content, we can look to the current trajectory of probiotics, a similarly named but different category of supplement.
Research has indicated that probiotics-related content on social media, from a Key Opinion Leader (KOL), often centres around direct connections with health and actionable behaviours that consumers can take. By way of contrast scientific organisations on social media tend to assume an authoritative role regarding the science, without same level of consumer engagement.
As a highly accessible and versatile solution for formulators, prebiotics hold the potential to connect and combine the two approaches, with influencer messaging powered by the strong gut health science propelling the category forwards.
The trend of KOLs centring conversation likely holds for most influencer-led health – social media influencers are considered authorities, and when backed by scientific evidence or products, consumers will choose to digest this information as it is both accessible and balanced.
What is Bimuno GOS (galactooligosaccharide) and how can brand formulators use it to make everyday health more achievable?
Interest and awareness of gut health are increasing, as is the wealth of research into the gut microbiota, opening up the opportunity for brands to explore the potential of positively influencing gut microbiota with prebiotic products to match consumer demand.
At Clasado Biosciences, we aim to make gut health simpler through our clinically tested prebiotic GOS ingredient, which enable formulators to strengthen nutritional profiles and launch new health supplements that can make managing health more accessible than ever.
Bimuno GOS is our targeted prebiotic ingredient, which can be added to nutritional supplements, as well as functional foods. It is a stable and versatile addition for a range of formulations, containing a blend of non-digestible galactooligosaccharides that stimulates the activity of bifidobacteria, a beneficial bacteria.
By selectively targeting and increasing the levels of bifidobacteria – associated with key areas of physical and mental health – Bimuno GOS can also promote gastrointestinal health[1], strengthen the body’s natural defences[2],[3], and support mental wellbeing by reducing stress hormone levels[4].
For formulators and consumers alike, Bimuno GOS can be seen as ‘health made simple’. It represents a simple way to develop gut health focused products right as the market is accelerating. To capitalise on this market growth, formulators need versatility, stability and true science-backed performance, which Bimuno GOS delivers.
For formulators looking to gain a strong foothold in the social media market, Bimuno GOS is a versatile and research-backed solution for the needs of a proactive consumer-health future.
For further information on Bimuno and how it can benefit your product portfolio, contact us here.
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19053980/
[2] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/influence-of-galactooligosaccharide-mixture-bgos-on-gut-microbiota-immune-parameters-and-metabonomics-in-elderly-persons/655F206AD190CB7C142893339E67811B
[3] https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/143/3/324/4637652
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159115300337
