Personalized nutrition

01Overview and value chain

Markers: [EC: GDPR genetic-data protection & EFSA Health Claims (EC 1924/2006) | OECD: Digital health & nutrigenomics | Regulator: FDA (USA), EFSA (EU), NMPA (China)]

Personalized nutrition tailors dietary advice to an individual’s biology instead of population averages, using three biomarker sets: the gut microbiome (shotgun metagenomic or metatranscriptomic sequencing), nutrigenomic DNA variants (SNPs for lactose, gluten, caffeine and vitamin metabolism), and real-time postprandial response captured by continuous glucose monitors. The scientific premise, established by large nutritional studies such as PREDICT, is that people differ sharply in glycemic and lipid response to the same food, so a single dietary rule cannot fit everyone. AI models trained on these data predict an individual’s postprandial glycemic response and assign each food a personal score, which is sold through test-kit-plus-subscription services. The market is now commercial at scale: ZOE ships a kit combining stool shotgun sequencing, a 14-day Abbott Libre Sense CGM and standardised meals into a food-scoring app, Viome runs high-throughput RNA metatranscriptomics and holds an FDA Breakthrough Device designation, and Nourished 3D-prints up to seven actives into a single daily gummy. The category sits at the regulated intersection of general wellness, medical foods and genetic data, so data protection and health-claim law shape who can sell what.

The key directions of personalized nutrition are:

1. Microbiome-based prediction: shotgun metagenomic or metatranscriptomic sequencing of a stool sample profiles the gut flora, and machine learning predicts glycemic and inflammatory response to specific foods.
2. Continuous glucose monitoring for the healthy: CGM sensors stream interstitial glucose to an app that scores meals in real time, opening metabolic optimisation to non-diabetic users.
3. Nutrigenomic profiling: SNP analysis of saliva flags lactose, gluten, caffeine and vitamin-metabolism variants that shift an individual’s ideal macronutrient mix.
4. Custom-formulated supplements: the recommendation is closed-looped into a physical product — personalised synbiotic blends or 3D-printed multi-active supplements delivered by subscription.

Sectoral value chain

[Sample & sensors] ──> [NGS sequencing / CGM logs] ──> [Bioinformatics] ──> [AI food scoring]
                                   │
                        (microbiome + DNA + glucose)
                                   │
                                   ▼
[Custom supplements] <─── [Diet plan & formulation] <─────┘

Value chain levels

Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:

• Shotgun metagenomics and metatranscriptomics: whole-sample DNA or RNA sequencing resolves the microbiome to strain level and to active metabolic function, going beyond cheaper 16S profiling to predict short-chain-fatty-acid and neurotransmitter synthesis.
• CGM-plus-software platforms: a software layer over FDA-cleared CGM sensors (Dexcom, Abbott Libre) turns raw interstitial-glucose streams into meal-level metabolic insight for non-diabetic users.
• Targeted supplement delivery: acid-resistant encapsulation and 3D-printed layered gummies deliver personalised probiotic strains and vitamin doses past the stomach and into the colon.

02US

The United States is the largest personalised-nutrition market by transaction volume, driven by CGM wellness adoption and a regulator that splits the category between general wellness and medical foods.

Viome, Levels, FDA pathways

• Viome and metatranscriptomics: Viome runs high-throughput RNA sequencing of the microbiome and holds an FDA Breakthrough Device designation for its saliva-based oral and throat cancer detection test, anchoring its clinical credibility.
• Levels and CGM wellness: Levels Health operates a CGM-as-a-service platform built on FDA-cleared Dexcom and Abbott Libre sensors with a proprietary analytics layer, selling metabolic optimisation to non-diabetic users.
• FDA split: the FDA treats the field across a spectrum from low-oversight general-wellness apps to strictly reviewed medical foods that must prove efficacy for a specific metabolic pathology.

03CN

China frames personalised nutrition as a tool of the Healthy China 2030 strategy, blending NGS microbiome science with traditional dietetics and constitution typing.

BGI databases, TCM integration, Healthy China 2030

• BGI and population genomics: BGI Group runs large-scale DNBSEQ metagenomic and genomic sequencing and holds one of the world’s deepest Asian-population genome and metagenome databases, enabling well-calibrated models for Chinese consumers.
• TCM integration: leading research centres map the effect of traditional herbal preparations on gut flora across genotypes, combining NGS microbiome readouts with classical body-constitution (Pinzhi) concepts.
• Consumer adoption: DNA and microbiome kits sold through WeChat-integrated platforms feed personalised reports that steer restaurant and food-delivery choices in the major cities.

04EU

The European Union develops the sector under strict genetic-data protection (GDPR) and tight EFSA control of health claims, with a strong consumer-science base.

ZOE and PREDICT, GDPR, EFSA claims

• ZOE and the PREDICT studies: ZOE, co-founded by a King’s College London genetic epidemiologist, sells a test-kit-plus-subscription that combines stool shotgun metagenomics, a 14-day Abbott Libre Sense CGM and standardised meals into an app of personal food scores, scaling from the UK into the US.
• GDPR genetic sovereignty: under GDPR, genetic and microbiome data are sensitive health data, so EU providers must host on European servers and guarantee anonymisation and profile deletion on request.
• EFSA health claims: EFSA bars firms from claiming that personalised diets treat or prevent chronic disease without gold-standard clinical evidence, so EU marketing focuses on energy, sugar balance and digestion.

05Leading companies and research institutes

06Tech stack and innovations

The personalised-nutrition stack joins sequencing bioinformatics, wearable glucose sensing and digital-to-physical supplement formulation.

1. Bioinformatics pipelines and microbiome databases:
   • Raw reads are quality-controlled, stripped of human DNA and mapped against reference catalogues such as NCBI RefSeq and the Unified Human Gastrointestinal Genome to taxonomically and functionally annotate the gut community.
   • Functional profiling tools quantify the genes for short-chain-fatty-acid synthesis (butyrate, acetate, propionate) and for undesirable metabolites, feeding the prediction models.
2. IoT sensors and continuous monitoring:
   • CGM sensors measure interstitial glucose via a glucose-oxidase electrode and stream it over Bluetooth Low Energy to a phone app that time-stamps each meal, calibrating the individual’s postprandial curve.
   • Platforms like Levels layer analytics over FDA-cleared Dexcom and Abbott sensors, turning raw glucose into meal-level metabolic scores for healthy users.
3. Individualised dosing and 3D-printed supplements:
   • Nourished (Rem3dy Health) uses patented 3D printing to layer up to seven active ingredients into a single sugar-free vegetarian gummy, printed to an individual’s recommended doses.
   • Personalised synbiotic lines blend specific probiotic strains with prebiotic fibres (inulin, FOS) in acid-resistant capsules that survive the stomach to reach the colon.

07Value chains and production pipelines

Customer and technology pipeline of a personalised-nutrition service (GDPR / ISO 15189 medical lab)

┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Home sample collection │ ───> │ 2. NGS sequencing &       │
│    (stool, saliva, CGM)   │      │    glucose logging        │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
                                                  │
                                                  ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 4. AI modelling &         │ <─── │ 3. Bioinformatic          │
│    food scoring           │      │    processing (FASTQ)     │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘
              │
              ▼
┌───────────────────────────┐      ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Diet plan & supplement │ ───> │ 6. Monitoring & retesting │
│    formulation            │      │                           │
└───────────────────────────┘      └───────────────────────────┘

Stage 1: Home sample collection

The user orders a kit, applies a CGM sensor to the arm for around two weeks, and collects a saliva sample for DNA and a small stool sample in a tube of stabilising buffer that preserves DNA and RNA at room temperature, then mails the biosamples to the lab.

Stage 2: Laboratory sequencing and glucose logging

In the lab, DNA is extracted on robotic stations, prepared into libraries and shotgun-metagenomically sequenced to millions of reads per sample; meanwhile the user logs meals in the app and completes standardised meal challenges so the CGM response can be calibrated.

Stage 3: Bioinformatic processing

The FASTQ reads pass quality control and human-read filtering, then the pipeline calls human SNPs from the saliva genome and profiles microbial taxa, diversity indices and butyrate-producing strains from the stool metagenome.

Stage 4: AI modelling and food scoring

The annotated profiles and CGM curves feed a machine-learning model that learns the user’s postprandial glycemic response equation and generates a personal food-score matrix that rates each food by predicted glucose, lipid and inflammatory impact.

Stage 5: Diet plan and supplement formulation

The app opens an interactive nutritionist that builds a meal plan around high-scoring foods, while an automated line — or a 3D printer for gummy formats — compounds the user’s specific probiotic strains, prebiotic fibres and vitamin doses into a custom supplement shipped by subscription.

Stage 6: Monitoring and retesting

An in-app coach adapts the plan from weekly wellbeing, weight and energy reports, and a follow-up microbiome test after some months measures how the flora has shifted so the diet and supplement formulation can be refined for long-term metabolic health.