Tom Branna, Editorial Director02.02.23
When it comes to wellness, consumers should go with their gut instinct. Earlier this year, Floré by Sun Genomics, a late-stage startup, partnered with Royal DSM to improve gut health and wellness. Together, they will collaborate on research, including DSM’s use of Floré’s algorithms to gain insight into novel ingredients. In return, DSM will help Floré source high-quality ingredients for its products, and take advantage of DSM’s deep knowledge base and extensive business network.
Happi recently caught up with Floré by Sun Genomics’ Founder Sunny Jain to discuss the importance of gut health.
Happi: Why did you form Floré? What was missing in the probiotic space?
Sunny Jain: I started Floré after struggling to solve my young son’s gut health issues. After trying several generic probiotic brands without success, I set out on a path to create a custom probiotic that worked for him by testing his unique gut microflora. Upon finding success, I began the process of creating Floré, which aims to do the same for the hundreds of millions of people who suffer from gut health issues worldwide.
This wasn’t just an opportunity for me to jump into the probiotic and microflora space as an entrepreneur. Instead, it was a chance to create a solution that other people needed and could be applied across ages and conditions.
Most other brands use categorized probiotics, which are proven to be only 20% effective at solving gut dysbiosis. Floré has access to 115+ probiotic, prebiotic and botanical ingredients that allow full customization to an individual’s gut microflora profile, which is proven to be 90% effective.
Happi: How do you customize probiotics?
Jain: Floré is the world’s first and only fully customized precision probiotic. Rooted in the results of patented whole-genome DNA sequencing and gut composition analysis, Floré personalized probiotics are formulated to an individual's unique gut microflora to regulate digestion, increase energy and reduce bloating utilizing AI technology. Our platform can detect more than 23,000 organisms, including bacteria, parasites, yeast, viruses, phases and fungi.
A customer’s journey begins when they order our gut analysis through our website. The collection is sent directly to their home, including instructions and all the necessary tools. The customer collects a stool sample and sends it back to our lab, and our scientists extract DNA from the sample and sequence their gut microflora. After sequencing, the customer can access their test results online and review a comprehensive gut analysis.
Our scientists then use this information to craft a custom probiotic, which is cold-shipped to our customers' door each month. After four months, customers can retest to see their progress.
Happi: How well do consumers and fast-moving consumer goods companies understand the gut/wellness connection? What are blocks to understanding this connection?
Jain: Surprisingly, the rate of scientific publications has moved from several hundred each year to over 20,000 in 2022 alone. This exponential understanding of the gut microflora has created an army of content creators, blog writers, editors and journalists translating this complex information into consumer actions. Some of the key takeaways from these publications are:
1) Your gut microflora is up to 90% unique from others,
2) You share microflora with those in your living space like a roommate, partner or kids and
3) Your unique microflora has a stable component to it that helps you understand your baseline.
In addition to publications, databases, like the one we have at Floré, have helped us better understand the difference in gut microflora between individuals and populations. We can also understand how the microbiome shifts with different diets and probiotics. We are now sharing that insight with our customers through product creation so they can get the most up-to-date gut health product without building their microbiome database.
Happi: What does a healthy gut mean for skin and hair?
Jain: The skin shares a complex connection to the colonies of microbes that live in your gut. Inside your intestines are 4,000 square feet of surface area that tightly controls what nutrients get into your bloodstream. In an unhealthy gut, that control slips, providing a greater chance of increased intestinal permeability (also known as leaky gut) for cytokines and metabolites to enter other organ systems, causing a chain reaction of inflammation throughout the body.
A healthy gut can manage the correct immune balance to reduce redness and inflammation in the skin, protect it against pathogens, restore a healthy pH balance and improve its moisture barrier.
Happi: We always hear how probiotics must be "alive" to be effective. Can you explain how they can be effective in a dormant state, and what happens when they reach the gut?
Jain: The definition of a probiotic is a living organism that provides benefit to the host—us! They are unlike vitamins because they are alive and will replicate in the gut if provided with the right nutrients and environment. Many people consider the gut one of the largest ecological systems; this can be compared to a rainforest but on a micro level. If you drop a dead organism into a rainforest, it is not likely to benefit the ecosystem other than the soil once it decomposes.
A living organism, with its food (prebiotics), can thrive and potentially release positive molecules into the surrounding space (called metabolites) that benefit you, the host. When a probiotic is dormant, it is still alive but not producing any of those positive metabolites. However, being dormant allows for survival because it is like they are hiding in the camouflage and waiting for the right environment to come back “alive.”
Happi: How will partnering with DSM propel your company forward?
Jain: This partnership is mutually beneficial. Together, we will collaborate on research, including DSM’s use of our unique manufacturing process and algorithms to gain insight into their novel ingredients. In return, DSM will help us source high-quality ingredients for our products while allowing us to take advantage of its deep knowledge base and extensive business network.
This partnership will help further revolutionize the probiotics sector and improve the gut health of the millions of people who struggle with gastrointestinal issues. As leaders in the precision nutrition space, strategic pairings such as this provide us with the connections and resources to make our products more easily accessible to consumers across the globe.
Happi: What's next for Floré?
Jain: In 2021, we began to execute our long-standing clinical strategy to drive the adoption of microbiome analysis as standard-of-care. We have expanded offerings to help our clients build a more comprehensive picture of their gut health. Our stand-alone or add-on tests include calprotectin, GI pathogen and heavy metal tests with FSA/HSA insurance reimbursement.
Additionally, we partner with wellness clinics and healthcare providers on our clinical microbiome program ranging from 3 to 12 months. The program allows patients to engage with their physicians based on their gut microflora test results, combined with a mix and match of vitamin-mineral supplements, personalized probiotics and/or prebiotics.
Lastly, we have partnered with Arizona State University’s Autism/Asperger’s Research Program and the Biodesign Institute. Through this partnership, we will share our findings on the potential connection between the gut microbiome and autism spectrum disorder using our product, Floré Research Edition. The enrolled patients will commit to at least two rounds of custom probiotics for this study and complete required study surveys.
Happi recently caught up with Floré by Sun Genomics’ Founder Sunny Jain to discuss the importance of gut health.
Happi: Why did you form Floré? What was missing in the probiotic space?
Sunny Jain: I started Floré after struggling to solve my young son’s gut health issues. After trying several generic probiotic brands without success, I set out on a path to create a custom probiotic that worked for him by testing his unique gut microflora. Upon finding success, I began the process of creating Floré, which aims to do the same for the hundreds of millions of people who suffer from gut health issues worldwide.
This wasn’t just an opportunity for me to jump into the probiotic and microflora space as an entrepreneur. Instead, it was a chance to create a solution that other people needed and could be applied across ages and conditions.
Most other brands use categorized probiotics, which are proven to be only 20% effective at solving gut dysbiosis. Floré has access to 115+ probiotic, prebiotic and botanical ingredients that allow full customization to an individual’s gut microflora profile, which is proven to be 90% effective.
Happi: How do you customize probiotics?
Jain: Floré is the world’s first and only fully customized precision probiotic. Rooted in the results of patented whole-genome DNA sequencing and gut composition analysis, Floré personalized probiotics are formulated to an individual's unique gut microflora to regulate digestion, increase energy and reduce bloating utilizing AI technology. Our platform can detect more than 23,000 organisms, including bacteria, parasites, yeast, viruses, phases and fungi.
A customer’s journey begins when they order our gut analysis through our website. The collection is sent directly to their home, including instructions and all the necessary tools. The customer collects a stool sample and sends it back to our lab, and our scientists extract DNA from the sample and sequence their gut microflora. After sequencing, the customer can access their test results online and review a comprehensive gut analysis.
Our scientists then use this information to craft a custom probiotic, which is cold-shipped to our customers' door each month. After four months, customers can retest to see their progress.
Happi: How well do consumers and fast-moving consumer goods companies understand the gut/wellness connection? What are blocks to understanding this connection?
Jain: Surprisingly, the rate of scientific publications has moved from several hundred each year to over 20,000 in 2022 alone. This exponential understanding of the gut microflora has created an army of content creators, blog writers, editors and journalists translating this complex information into consumer actions. Some of the key takeaways from these publications are:
1) Your gut microflora is up to 90% unique from others,
2) You share microflora with those in your living space like a roommate, partner or kids and
3) Your unique microflora has a stable component to it that helps you understand your baseline.
In addition to publications, databases, like the one we have at Floré, have helped us better understand the difference in gut microflora between individuals and populations. We can also understand how the microbiome shifts with different diets and probiotics. We are now sharing that insight with our customers through product creation so they can get the most up-to-date gut health product without building their microbiome database.
Happi: What does a healthy gut mean for skin and hair?
Jain: The skin shares a complex connection to the colonies of microbes that live in your gut. Inside your intestines are 4,000 square feet of surface area that tightly controls what nutrients get into your bloodstream. In an unhealthy gut, that control slips, providing a greater chance of increased intestinal permeability (also known as leaky gut) for cytokines and metabolites to enter other organ systems, causing a chain reaction of inflammation throughout the body.
A healthy gut can manage the correct immune balance to reduce redness and inflammation in the skin, protect it against pathogens, restore a healthy pH balance and improve its moisture barrier.
Happi: We always hear how probiotics must be "alive" to be effective. Can you explain how they can be effective in a dormant state, and what happens when they reach the gut?
Jain: The definition of a probiotic is a living organism that provides benefit to the host—us! They are unlike vitamins because they are alive and will replicate in the gut if provided with the right nutrients and environment. Many people consider the gut one of the largest ecological systems; this can be compared to a rainforest but on a micro level. If you drop a dead organism into a rainforest, it is not likely to benefit the ecosystem other than the soil once it decomposes.
A living organism, with its food (prebiotics), can thrive and potentially release positive molecules into the surrounding space (called metabolites) that benefit you, the host. When a probiotic is dormant, it is still alive but not producing any of those positive metabolites. However, being dormant allows for survival because it is like they are hiding in the camouflage and waiting for the right environment to come back “alive.”
Happi: How will partnering with DSM propel your company forward?
Jain: This partnership is mutually beneficial. Together, we will collaborate on research, including DSM’s use of our unique manufacturing process and algorithms to gain insight into their novel ingredients. In return, DSM will help us source high-quality ingredients for our products while allowing us to take advantage of its deep knowledge base and extensive business network.
This partnership will help further revolutionize the probiotics sector and improve the gut health of the millions of people who struggle with gastrointestinal issues. As leaders in the precision nutrition space, strategic pairings such as this provide us with the connections and resources to make our products more easily accessible to consumers across the globe.
Happi: What's next for Floré?
Jain: In 2021, we began to execute our long-standing clinical strategy to drive the adoption of microbiome analysis as standard-of-care. We have expanded offerings to help our clients build a more comprehensive picture of their gut health. Our stand-alone or add-on tests include calprotectin, GI pathogen and heavy metal tests with FSA/HSA insurance reimbursement.
Additionally, we partner with wellness clinics and healthcare providers on our clinical microbiome program ranging from 3 to 12 months. The program allows patients to engage with their physicians based on their gut microflora test results, combined with a mix and match of vitamin-mineral supplements, personalized probiotics and/or prebiotics.
Lastly, we have partnered with Arizona State University’s Autism/Asperger’s Research Program and the Biodesign Institute. Through this partnership, we will share our findings on the potential connection between the gut microbiome and autism spectrum disorder using our product, Floré Research Edition. The enrolled patients will commit to at least two rounds of custom probiotics for this study and complete required study surveys.