Last week’s headlines included Holland & Barrett unveiling plans to offer wellness advice to consumers, FDA’s human foods chief talking dietary supplement modernization, Solnul partnering with Lehvoss for European distribution, and Google working with Singapore-based Amili for a new personalized nutrition app.
Holland & Barrett bringing proactive care to consumers
The UK’s leading health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett announced plans to offer wellness advice and support on the high street in a bid to bring accessible healthcare to the community.
The announcement comes following the publication of a new report which found that 45% of the UK population are only proactive about their health when something goes wrong. Commissioned by Holland & Barrett (H&B) and conducted by Ipsos, the report also found that 74% of UK adults aged 16-75 believe that establishing good health and well-being habits is key to preventing illness in the future.
However, accessing preventative healthcare presents a significant barrier. With mounting pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals, the report states that many are unable to turn intention into action. H&B says there is therefore a ‘clear opportunity’ for trusted high street brands to help people access earlier, community-based support outside traditional clinical settings.
“What we’ve been really successful at over the past few decades is extending lifespan, but we’ve not been so great at extending healthspan,” Dr. Ben Green, head of science at H&B, told attendees during an event hosted by the retailer in London on April 8.
“Forty percent of the public disagree that the government is helping them be proactive with their health, and that gap between the government’s prevention ambition and the public’s ability to act is what we’re calling the ‘implementation gap.’ We don’t feel the NHS can fill that gap alone—we feel that they need some partners to really work together to make that prevention ambition a reality.”
FDA human foods chief talks MAHA priorities for supplement modernization
Speaking during a fireside chat hosted by the Natural Products Association (NPA) on April 8, Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner for Human Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, restated the unprecedented prominence of a food and nutrition policy dedicated to tackling chronic disease, increasing transparency and updating regulatory processes but noted that successful movements take time and require out of the box thinking inside the agency.
“How do you get over some of that groupthink that might exist on certain issues or certain topics?” he asked. “I think we’re taking a fresh look to better understand how we can better serve the constituents here, how we can better protect consumers, how we can ensure food safety. That’s been a challenge, and I would just say what’s made it easier is that health, wellness, nutrition, food policy is having a bit of a moment.”
That moment includes continuing to acknowledge that the FDA is operating under significant resource constraints, with a budget half the size of the Dallas school district while overseeing 80% of the U.S. food supply, including dietary supplements. The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates the remaining 20%, which covers meat, poultry and certain egg products.
To achieve its massive remit, the FDA is focusing modernization efforts on re‑examining long‑standing regulatory practices and prioritizing actions that deliver meaningful public health benefits.
“Dietary supplement modernization overall is top of mind,” Diamantas said, echoing his previous remarks delivered at a March 27 FDA public meeting on the scope of dietary supplement ingredients. “The supplement industry has just grown tremendously, not just in size, but in scope and scale over the last 30 years, and our regulatory framework just really has not adapted adequately to address that.”
Solnul expands European presence with Lehvoss distribution deal
MSP Starch Products Inc. has announced an exclusive partnership with Lehvoss Group to distribute its Solnul-branded resistant starch to the European market.
“As demand for fiber continues to grow across Europe, this expansion advances our mission to reunite the microbiome with its favorite food, Solnul, and to bring the benefits of resistant starch to a broader audience,” stated Jason Leibert, chief growth Officer at Solnul, in a release. “Today, the average European consumes only around 4 g of the recommended 20 g of resistant starch per day—highlighting how far modern diets have moved away from this foundational fiber.”
A spokesperson for Solnul/MSP told NutraIngredients that although many European brands and co-manufacturers have shown strong interest in the ingredient over the past few years, the company’s only supply to date has been to Sunday Natural, which was a direct shipment. Sunday Natural launched its NuShape Metabolic Shake product in August 2025.
“Recent project inquiries point to the highest potential in Ready to Mix fiber powders and meal replacements, which are generally the only permitted resistant starch claims for brands in most European countries,” the spokesperson said. “While interest has been widespread across all of Europe, we’ve had the most inquiries from Germany and the UK.”
Google to launch personalized nutrition app with Singapore microbiome firm
Singapore microbiome firm AMILI and Google are planning to launch a personalized nutrition mobile application at the end of April.
Known as AMILI Optimise, the mobile app will be launched in three key phases.
The first phase would tap into AMILI’s gut microbiome databank and Google’s expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) in making personalized nutrition recommendations based on an individual’s gut microbiome and postprandial blood glucose response in an eight-week long program.
Users will need to provide photos of their daily meals, wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), provide fecal samples and answer self-reported questionnaires that assess changes in their mood and energy levels pre- and post-meals.
Depending on an individual’s needs, the mobile app may also recommend dietary supplements, including AMILI probiotics.
The personalized nutrition program will be available at a price of SGD$750 (US$584) and at a discounted price of SGD$400 (US$312) as part of the launch promotion.
