Bio&Me innovators' gut health science wins Grocer Gold entrepreneur award

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Dr Megan Rossi and Jon Walsh, Bio and Me

Winner: Dr Megan Rossi and Jon Walsh - Bio&Me

They might be something of an fmcg odd couple, but Jon Walsh and Megan Rossi have blended scientific knowledge with food industry expertise to come up with a winning formula and create a household brand.

Rossi’s determination to help people improve their gut health was inspired by the loss of her grandmother to bowel cancer while she was still studying for a degree in dietetics at university in Australia.

After moving to the UK in 2015 to continue her work as a gut health scientist, she found a lack of genuinely gut-friendly products she could recommend to clients. The Gut Health Doctor was born in 2017 as part of Rossi’s mission to educate the public and dispel misleading health claims.

As a research fellow at King’s College London, she had a front-row seat to witness the rapidly advancing science on the importance of a healthy gut and grew increasingly frustrated this wasn’t reflected on supermarket shelves.

Despite having zero experience of the food industry, Rossi took matters into her own hands – with a little help from Walsh, who knew grocery like the back of his hand thanks to a 30-year career at global behemoths such as Nestlé, John West and Procter & Gamble, where he was part of the marketing team responsible for launching Sunny Delight in the UK in 1998.

The pair gambled on joining forces to launch Bio&Me in 2019 with the aim of bringing credible, scientifically proven and tasty gut health products to market.

Painstakingly developed in Rossi’s kitchen at first, the recipes today for the brand’s granolas, muesli, kefirs and yoghurts are packed with healthy ingredients and each product carries the European food safety Authority approved ‘Good For Your Gut’ certification.

Bio&Me now boasts nationwide distribution across all the major mults, while sales have grown rapidly, and profitably, to reach £16m in 2025 – all of which has been delivered with a team of just 15 staff without a single resignation.

Alongside commercial success, Bio&Me has kept purpose at its core and remains focused on doing business the right way, illustrated by Rossi’s active role in the Buy Women Built collective, while Walsh is a mentor to several early stage brands and an Ocado Roots ‘champion’.

This year, the brand also launched a partnership with Bowel Cancer UK to drive awareness of early signs and prevention of the disease. The move represented a full circle moment that brought the Bio&Me story back to where it started: Rossi’s grandmother.

Judges were unanimous in praising the “raw, honest, unique and thoughtful entry”, which took a deep dive into the Bio&Me story and strategic journey, alongside a personalised video to bring it all to life.

“I just love the way they break down the numbers,” one judge said. “They’re really commercial, but they’re also really values driven. And I love the way they talk about the team and how proud they are to have had zero resignations. They’ve done a fantastic job as founders and entrepreneurs. The numbers are great. And I think they’ve only just got started.”

Another judge added: “The two founders are the whole package. Entrepreneurs should inspire others and Jon and Megan tick all the boxes. Together they are a brilliant proposition, mixing industry knowhow with scientific bona fides.

“I love their progress – which in an on-trend category hasn’t come easy – while staying very true to their principles. They are a great example of entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation.”