Zoe, the gut health research and personalized nutrition platform, has launched The Gut Health Bar, a snack bar containing plant ingredients designed to support the gut microbiome, whilst providing fiber and protein.
The bars come in two flavours, dark chocolate and sea salt, and raspberry and goji berry, with each containing various plant ingredients – among these are kombucha powder, seaweed, and red lentils.
According to Zoe, the bars have been designed to be chewy to slow the eating experience. Due to the bars retaining natural structures of the plants, the “more substantial texture” of the product slows eating rate, which can support metabolism and help prevent overeating, Federica Amati, head nutritionist at Zoe, explained.
By keeping many of the natural structures of plant ingredients intact, this also allows them to travel further down the digestive tract, feeding gut microbes.
Each bar contains 8g of fiber and 7g of plant protein. Though this level of protein is substantially lower than some of the protein bars available on the market, as the ‘proteinification’ of food and beverage products continues, Amati told NutraIngredients this is a case of “marketing overriding science.”
“While most people get plenty of protein, 96% of UK adults are deficient in fiber— it is the country’s number one deficiency,” she said. “We are shifting the focus back to real-food diversity. Many ultra-processed bars achieve 20g of protein by using isolated powders and commercial cosmetic additives to make them palatable, lacking overall nutritional benefit and possibly disrupting gut health.”
Instead of targeting high levels of protein, Zoe has focused on helping people meet their target of 30g of fiber per day, as well as feeding beneficial gut bacteria and promoting natural satiety signalling, Amati added.
The ingredients have been selected using data from the company’s nutrition study, the Zoe Health Study, which it suggests is the largest in-depth nutrition study in the world.
The Gut Health Bar was launched in June 2026, in the UK, with the company stating that it plans to expand into other countries with the product in the near future.
Countering sceptical consumers
Zoe is currently evaluating the impact of its gut health bars on metabolic health and satiety in a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
When asked about the efforts, Amati said: “By backing The Gut Health Bar with a gold-standard clinical trial, rather than just marketing claims, we are bringing much needed transparency to the food industry and earning the genuine trust of consumers.”
Zoe’s own consumer survey revealed 70% of UK adults feel misled by snack ingredient lists, while only 28% of people consider their own snacking habits to be somewhat or very healthy. Consumers are justified in their scepticism, Amati said, as she cited the frequency of health buzzwords, such as ‘high in protein’ or ‘low in fat’, playing a role in masking ultra-processed formulas.
The results from the RCT are expected by the end of 2026, but journal publication timelines do not allow for a more precise date on final publication, Amati stated.
