Food is the most potent tool we have for physical and mental wellbeing. We are moving into an era of affordable DNA and blood chemistry tests and gut microbiome analysis. Personalised nutrition companies seeking to improve our wellness through diet are starting up around the world. Wellness food is personalised nutrition.

lmagine a future where we walk into a restaurant and provide a saliva or blood sample to have a dinner designed to perfectly meet our nutritional needs. Food tribes adhering to specific diets including vegan, slow-carb and paleo are flexing their buying muscle too. Consumers expect that food brands will keep up with their desires and offer customised products.

Food tech and personalisation

Notable global food brands are personalising their offer. WW (formerly Weight Watchers, now with the tagline „Wellness that Works“) and Lean Cuisine (through Nutria, a DNA-based plan launched in 2018) are focused on wellness through customer preference and personalisation at the heart of their brands. Others are embracing technology to enable consumers to construct hyper­individualised meal plans. Apps such as Food Visor can interpret meal photos to recognise items on a plate, estimate their serving sizes and provide a detailed nutrition report in seconds. Accompanying these trends is a consumer craving for products and experiences that have a stamp of authenticity – „the real thing“. This means authentic ingredients and recipes, and food experiences that feel like they’re grounded in something meaningful. We see this reflected in brands embracing new ingredients, romancing food heritage and a celebration of the global food landscape.

NesQuino – built for digital

Nestle nesQino is a new personalised nutrition system from Nestle for creating healthy superfood smoothies at home, in response to growing interest from Asian consumers in healthy food quality and customisation. Using a digitally connected Q-cup, users select their desired combo of superfood sachets, and one of three different base options – smoothie, oat shake or milk shake. There are 21 different superfood drink options possible. The sachets including freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, roots and microalgae, with added probiotics for optimal digestion and to help boost overall wellbeing. nesQino can be controlled via a smartphone app, which also includes nutritional information and suggests recipe combinations. The app also allows users to set their desired drink temperature, review their drink’s nutritional information and share recipes with other users for added social connectivity. As a reusable machine and cup system with 100% recyclable sachet packaging, nesQuino also minimises its environmental impact.

An excerpt from Ogilvy’s The Wellness Gap Report 2020.