The IPA World Congress + Probiota, hosted by NutraIngredients in association with the International Probiotics Association, will take place at the Convention Centre, Dublin Feb. 11-13. The three-day conference will feature world-leading experts to present the latest scientific, technical, regulatory, business, and market insights.
The state of the market
Nick Stene, senior global insight manager for consumer health at Euromonitor International, will open proceedings on Day 1 (11th February), setting the scene with a state of the industry with sales numbers for probiotics and consumer survey data.
This will be followed by Ewa Hudson, director of insights at Lumina Intelligence and a Probiota veteran, who will put Gen Z under the microscope. Ewa’s presentation will explore how Gen Z consumers in the UK, USA and China are reshaping the wellness landscape — and what this means for probiotics, functional nutrition and microbiome-powered solutions.
We’ll close out the State of the Market session with a panel discussion featuring Muriel Gonzalez, president of The Vitamin Shoppe, Linda Neckmar, senior vice president of human health at Novonesis, and Meghan Taylor, research scientist at MaryRuth’s.
Following a short break, the program resumes with a Dr. Mathieu Millette, scientific director, digestive health at Kerry, sharing the Bio-K+ success story and how the brand evolved from a probiotic with medical-grade efficacy used in hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities to a rising star in North America’s wellness market.
Probiota Pioneers
Every year, NutraIngredients turns the spotlight on three innovative early-stage companies to showcase their solutions on stage. The 2026 Probiota Pioneers are Luvbiotics, Microvitality, and Totality Biosciences.
From gums to bums
You read that right… Our afternoon session will lead attendees on the latest science and business opportunities along the gastrointestinal tract. Starting in the mouth, we’ll hear from Dr. John Hale, chief technology officer at BLIS Technologies and Dr. Peng Guo, chief technology officer at BioGrowing, before exploring the small intestine (speaker TBC) and the large intestine with Prof. Marcus Claesson from University College Cork.
Prof. Claesson and Dr. Hale will then join a panel discussion that will also feature Dr. Marco Pane, chief scientific officer, Probiotical for an extensive conversation about the state of the science and knowledge gaps.
Next-gen -biotics
We’ll close out Day 1 with cutting edge science around novel prebiotics, next generation probiotic strains and innovative postbiotics. The session opens with two presentations about next-gen probiotics, delivered by Dr. Johanna Maukonen, global director of clinical innovation and translation at IFF Health Sciences, and Dr. Rachel Anderson, science team leader at New Zealand’s Bioeconomy Science Institute.
The session, and Day 1, closes with a panel discussion of all things next-gen, and will feature Dr. Richard Day, VP of medical affairs and clinical development, health and wellness at ADM, Martin Fleming, senior technologist at Enterprise Ireland, Dr. Justin Green, director of scientific affairs at EpiCor (Cargill), and Dr. Koen Venema, founder and CEO of the Beneficial Microbes Consultancy.
IPA World + Probiota
Key themes to be explored on Day 2 and 3 include: The regulatory landscape; Postbiotics; Strain optimization opportunities for probiotics; Microbiome diets and fermented foods; the gut-brain axis; and our closing Future Focus panel
For more information and to register, please click HERE.
