Its flagship product, Zenith, launched in October “to support stress resilience, energy, focus, mood and motivation in the daily adventure of life.” Marketed as a “proto-biotic” combination of branded probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics and phytobiotics, it is designed to help the body function smarter through neurotransmitter balance, mitochondrial efficiency and stress physiology rather than by inducing performance through artificial stimulation or dopamine hijacking.
Here, Shawn Talbott, founder of 3 Waves Wellness discusses how his start-up has set out to help people ride life’s waves through resilience biology and promote peak performance, which he calls “everyday excellence.”
The company is one of this year’s NutraIngredients-USA Start-up Stars that will be featured at the upcoming Sports and Active Nutrition Summit taking place in San Diego from Feb. 18 to 20.
NI: Could you share a bit about your background?
ST: My background sits at the intersection of nutritional biochemistry (PhD in nutritional biochemistry from Rutgers), human performance (MS in exercise science from UMass) and entrepreneurship (entrepreneurial masters from MIT). I’ve spent more than three decades studying how food, botanicals and behavior shape mental and physical resilience—otherwise known as the “food-mood connection” (aka “psycho-nutrition”). Some of this time has been in academia, some working with elite-level athletes, some developing products for billion-dollar companies—and now building systems that help people perform better in real life.
NI: Why is the company called 3 Waves Wellness?
ST: The name 3 Waves Wellness comes from a simple but powerful observation: Human performance is governed by three interconnected “brains”—or “waves”—the gut, the heart and the brain. These aren’t metaphorical. They are literal signaling networks that communicate constantly through neurotransmitters, hormones, immune messengers and the microbiome. When those three waves are in sync, people feel energized, focused, resilient and emotionally grounded. When they’re not, everything feels harder than it should.
Our mission is to help people ride those waves—not fight them—so they can be the best versions of themselves and live with what we call “Everyday Excellence.”
NI: You emphasize that life isn’t about perfect routines or social media highlight reels. How does that philosophy shape 3 Waves and its products?
ST: Real life is messy. Stress happens. Sleep gets disrupted. Motivation fluctuates. And most people don’t need another unrealistic wellness standard – rather, they need support systems that work within the chaos.
That philosophy is baked into everything we do. We don’t design products for influencers with perfect morning routines; we design them for real humans with jobs, families, training schedules and stress. Our formulations are built around resilience, adaptability and recovery—not quick fixes or stimulants that borrow energy from tomorrow.
At 3 Waves, we believe performance isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency, recovery and having the biochemical tools to adapt when life throws a curveball.
NI: What opportunity did you see in the market, and who is your target consumer?
ST: The biggest gap we saw was that the wellness industry talks a lot about either physical performance or mental health—but rarely both, and almost never through the integrated lens of biochemistry.
Consumers are overwhelmed. They’re stressed, under-recovered and trying to optimize everything from sleep to focus to gut health—often with disconnected products that don’t work together.
Our target consumer is the high-functioning, health-conscious individual—athletes, professionals, busy moms and everyday performers—who want to feel sharper, more resilient and more emotionally balanced without relying on extremes.
They don’t want hype. They want science, simplicity and results they can feel.
NI: What has gone into building the brand? And what has your funding and go-to-market path looked like?
ST: 3 Waves was built deliberately and independently. We’ve taken a science-first, community-driven approach rather than chasing fast capital or trends.
The foundation has been deep scientific validation, ethical ingredient sourcing, direct relationships with formulators and manufacturers, education-first marketing and a strong community of early adopters and practitioners.
We have focused on building trust, content and credibility—through education, certification programs and experiential wellness. That approach has allowed us to grow organically while maintaining control over quality, messaging and long-term vision.
NI: How important is science—and the gut–brain–heart axis—to the brand?
It’s everything.
The gut–brain–heart axis isn’t a buzzword for us; this new paradigm is fundamentally shifting how we think about health, performance and longevity—so it’s the organizing principle of the company. The gut microbiome influences neurotransmitter production. The heart communicates electrically with the brain. Inflammation, stress hormones and metabolic health link all three.
Every product we develop starts with the simple question of, “How does this improve signaling between the gut, brain and heart?”
If it doesn’t support that conversation, it doesn’t make it into a 3 Waves formula.
NI: What is Zenith, and how did you arrive at the formulation? What makes it different?
ST: Zenith is our flagship product and the purest expression of our philosophy.
It was designed to support mental clarity, stress resilience, motivation and drive, gut–brain communication and daily performance without stimulation or crash.
We refer to the formulation as a “Proto-Biotic” because it blends specific strains of probiotic bacteria, next-generation prebiotics, research-validated postbiotics and patented botanicals (what we call “phyto-biotics”). Ingredients were chosen specifically for their effects on neurotransmitter balance, mitochondrial efficiency, and stress physiology.
What makes Zenith different is that it doesn’t push harder to elevate performance—it helps the body function smarter. No artificial stimulation. No dopamine hijacking. Just clean support for the systems that govern focus, mood, and motivation.
Beyond Zenith, we’re developing additional formulations focused on sleep and recovery, metabolic flexibility, exercise adaptation and long-term brain health—all designed through the same gut-brain-heart lens.
NI: Where do you see the biggest opportunity for innovation in sports and active nutrition?
ST: The future isn’t in “more caffeine” or “stronger stimulants.” It’s in resilience biology.
We’re entering an era where:
- Recovery matters more than output
- Mental performance matters as much as physical
- The microbiome is recognized as a performance organ
- Adaptation beats stimulation
The biggest opportunity is in products that help athletes and active individuals adapt better to stress—whether that be training stress, life stress, cognitive load—without burning out. We’re entering an age where it’s not about “doing more”—but rather about “getting more” out of what you’re doing. That’s where the science is going, and that’s where we’re building.
NI: What’s next for 3 Waves? What’s the long-term vision?
ST: Short term, we’re expanding our product line and deepening our educational platform—helping people understand not just what to take, but why it works and how it makes them feel.
Long term, 3 Waves is about redefining performance and wellness as something that is achievable for everyone (“Everyday Excellence”). The achieve this, we’re making sure that our products are science-based and ethically sourced; that our programs enable our customers to understand how they can improve mental wellness for themselves and their family; and that everything we do helps people to feel their best and connect with others.
The goal isn’t to create another Instagram supplement brand. It’s to build a new category—one where mental fitness, metabolic health, and emotional resilience are treated as the foundation of performance, not the afterthought.
Because when your gut, heart and brain are aligned, everything else follows.
Are you a start-up in the sports and active nutrition industry looking to connect with key players, investors and thought leaders?
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Join us for the 2026 Sports & Active Nutrition Summit USA from Feb. 18 to 20 in San Diego to position your company among the innovators shaping the future of active nutrition.
