The Swiss food giant, which already owns a broad portfolio of nutrition brands, including Organix, Deliciously Ella, Freche Freunde, and Semper, purchased the multi-faceted gut health firm for an undisclosed fee.
“The acquisition of The Gut Stuff is a fantastic opportunity for us to grow as a group and play in a small but growing trend in Better Snacking around gut health and fiber,” said Christian Schierbaum, CEO of the Hero Group.
The Gut Stuff founders, Scottish twins Lisa and Alana Macfarlane, will continue to lead the brand alongside their team of staff.
“Gut health has properly landed,” Alana Macfarlane told NutraIngredients. “It’s gone from niche wellness conversation to mainstream consumer behavior, and we wanted to scale at the same speed as the wave, not watch it roll over us.
“This felt like exactly the right moment to bring in a partner who could help us run.”
Macfarlane said the acquisition will allow hers and Lisa’s roles to evolve.
“Hero’s support means we can finally execute on ideas we’ve had for years but didn’t have the resource to bring to life. It feels less like handing over the keys and more like getting a much bigger engine,” she said.
From twin study to gut-health brand
The Gut Stuff was founded in 2017 with the aim to make gut microbiome science accessible through engaging, evidence-based public education. The idea grew out of the twins’ participation in Professor Tim Spector’s twin study at King’s College London, where they discovered that identical DNA does not mean identical gut bacteria, which sparked their fascination with gut health.
They first built an audience through a YouTube series featuring gut health scientists and experts, then expanded into a multi-channel business. Now, they run a diverse health brand that includes high-fiber snack bars and drinks, a dedicated app, a podcast, live events, and corporate education programs worldwide. The acquisition encompasses the entire Gut Stuff business ecosystem.
Macfarlane said the Hero Group recognized the brand’s offering operates as an ecosystem, which is significantly more powerful when maintained in full.
“That’s always been our model: build the brand and the audience first, then let the products follow,” Macfarlane said. “Hero recognized that the content, community, education and products all work together as one flywheel. This is where the value lies.”
The Gut Stuff to expand globally
The Gut Stuff portfolio consists of snacks and soft drinks, all aimed at gut health. These include high-fiber canned “pop” drinks in flavours like apple & elderflower, wild berry and lemon. They also have a range of high fiber bars in peanut butter, sea salt & caramel, cocoa & hazelnut, raspberry & coconut, and apple & cinnamon flavors.
Macfarlane said that the product range would only ‘get stronger’ with the acquisition.
“Hero has a serious focus on quality and innovation, and one of the most exciting things about this deal is what it unlocks for NPD,” she said. “As a small business, developing new products is slow and risky. With Hero’s infrastructure behind us, we can move faster and really lead the category rather than just keep pace with it.”
As well as NPD, Macfarlane noted that Hero’s infrastructure is already accelerating the company’s expansion, particularly in international markets, noting that they will soon announce a significant international supermarket launch.
“Hero’s backing gives us genuine local leverage in new markets, relationships, infrastructure and credibility that would have taken us years to build independently,” she said. “Doors that were previously very heavy to push are now a lot lighter.”
Fiber and gut health trends surge
According to recent data from Mintel, fiber-rich diets are gaining online attention, having been mentioned in 37,091 conversations in 2025, a 9% growth on 2024. In the same time frame, The Gut Stuff reported seeing 90% YoY sales growth for their high- bars.
Macfarlane noted the acquisition is evidence of just how far the gut health category has come within mainstream food and beverage.
“Seven years ago, we were stocked at the back of the store - if we were stocked at all,” she said. “Now gut health is a front-of-store, mainstream consumer priority, and serious global businesses are investing accordingly.
“We’ve been on this wave since before most people knew it existed, and it’s genuinely exciting to see the category get the recognition it deserves.”
