The biotics category is attracting growing interest among both consumers and industry stakeholders, driven by its broad spectrum of applications and the expanding body of scientific research supporting these ingredients.
Despite their positive image, confusion still exists around definitions and distinctions within the category. Excluding prebiotics, which are not microbial strains but dietary fibers capable of nourishing the commensal microbiome, probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit to the host. Postbiotics, on the other hand, consist of inactivated microbial cells and/or their metabolites that exert beneficial physiological effects.
Beyond these established segments, the field is evolving toward next‑generation microorganisms. These beneficial bacteria are identified through advanced sequencing technologies and isolated directly from the human microbiome. Often strictly anaerobic, they require more complex and tightly controlled production and industrialisation processes compared with traditional probiotics.
In parallel with the rapid evolution of the biotics landscape, consumer expectations are also undergoing an important transformation. Today’s consumers are no longer satisfied with broad, generic wellness benefits; instead, they are increasingly seeking targeted, science-backed solutions that address specific health needs.
Transparency, traceability, and clinically substantiated functionality have become key decision drivers, alongside a growing demand for clear, trustworthy information.
As a result, consumers are adopting a more informed and proactive approach to health management, favouring products that demonstrate measurable benefits and clearly defined mechanisms of action.
Within this evolving context, innovation is no longer limited to the discovery of new strains. It increasingly involves advanced formulation strategies, optimised delivery systems, and synergistic combinations designed to enhance both efficacy and stability. This holistic approach reflects a broader transition from single-strain solutions toward integrated microbiome modulation strategies, capable of supporting multiple physiological functions across different life stages.
Across all categories, scientific validation of bacterial strains remains paramount. To support recognised health benefits, biotics must be supported by robust scientific evidence capable of demonstrating strain‑specific functionality. This evidence base is essential not only for regulatory credibility, but also for strengthening consumer trust in these active ingredients.
An integrated approach, starting from scientific research and extending throughout the entire formulation and production process, enables the development of finished products across diverse health areas, while ensuring consistency, quality, safety and efficacy at every stage.
The integrated development of finished solutions allows for a strong focus on ingredient compatibility and formulation performance, combining scientific know-how, technological expertise, and creative strategies to deliver application-ready products.
Regulatory credibility
With this perspective, Sacco System, a biotechnology company with over 150 years of heritage in microorganism production, places research and development at the core of its strategy. The company pursues innovation across probiotics, postbiotics, next‑generation strains, and live producer bacteria (LPBs), applying rigorous safety assessments and conducting in‑vitro and in‑vivo investigations to identify and select the most effective strains across multiple areas of health‑related research.
Building on this strong scientific foundation, Sacco System also extends its capabilities beyond ingredient development, offering integrated solutions that include the formulation and production of finished products. By covering the entire value chain – from strain selection and characterisation to industrialisation and final delivery – the company ensures full control over quality, stability and performance of the final formulations.
This approach enables the development of application-ready products tailored to different health areas, meeting both scientific standards and market expectations, while reinforcing Sacco System’s role not only as an ingredient supplier but as a full-service partner.
A synergistic blend of two probiotic strains
Within a broad portfolio of active ingredients – supported by human research studies and in vitro characterisations and designed to explore distinct mechanisms of action along multiple organism-gut axes, Synbio stands out as a notable example. It is a synergistic blend of two probiotic strains capable of rapidly colonising the intestinal microbiota.
The formulation is supported by extensive human clinical validation involving more than 1,100 individuals, reporting measured changes across inflammatory, nutritional, microbiome‑related and other biological markers commonly assessed in human microbiome studies.
Clinical outcomes showed statistically significant changes across multiple commonly monitored physiological and biochemical markers. These included a marked reduction in systemic inflammatory burden, evidenced by significant decreases in high‑sensitivity C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP) and pro‑inflammatory cytokines, biomarkers frequently examined in research related to inflammation and age‑associated biological processes.
Long-term health maintenance
Participants also showed improvements in nutritional status, as assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), suggesting enhanced nutrient utilisation and metabolic efficiency.
The intervention also positively modulated mobility‑ and muscle‑related signaling pathways, with increased circulating levels of insulin‑like growth factor‑1 (IGF‑1), a biomarker commonly studied in relation to muscle physiology and age‑associated biological processes. In addition, Synbio observed changes were reported in telomere‑associated markers commonly used in cellular aging research.
At the gut level, the formulation promoted enhanced microbiome resilience and ecological balance, characterised by increased microbial diversity and a selective rise in beneficial taxa.
Notably, significant increases were observed in Akkermansia and Bifidobacteria, widely discussed in scientific literature examining gut ecology and host–microbe interactions. Together, these outcomes suggest a coordinated action along the gut-systemic axis, for a long‑term health maintenance.
