The holy grail: what’s the longevity opportunity for brands?

Earlier than most, Chris Mirabile came face-to-face with his own mortality. “I had a sudden seizure and it turned out it was caused by a brain tumour,” says the Florida-based founder.

“At 16 years old, I was wondering if I would wake up the next day or not. It transformed my perspective on health. I started to think not just about short-term outcomes, but decades into the future. I was thinking: ‘How can I avoid getting cancer, ever?’”

Mirabile has dedicated himself to answering that question ever since. Nearly 20 years later, he set up Novos, a nutraceutical company that specialises in bringing longevity science to everyday formulations. In 2025, the business unveiled its first food product: the Longevity Nutrition Bar.

Packed with 15g of protein, five longevity supplements and no fewer than 20 superfoods, the product is only slightly pricier than standard protein bars at $4/£2.90. The snack delivers all the anti-ageing benefits you might get from swallowing a tonne of pills, insists Mirabile.

He tucks into a couple after his own workouts. “We thought of all those details, so we could make it into something we could proudly stand behind as a longevity product rather than just a ‘healthy’ protein bar.”

Mirabile and his team aren’t the only ones experimenting with food products that play into the growing curiosity around longevity. Everyone from specialist scientific confectioners to major fmcg manufacturers like Nestlé are exploring the relatively untapped opportunity in selling longer, healthier lives.

So, is there really a credible role for food brands and manufacturers to play here? What sorts of longevity products could join the likes of Novos on shelf? And – in a field dogged by junk science and misinformed social influencers – what missteps could result in a, well, premature end?

Lighting the longevity spark

A decade ago, longevity didn’t really exist as a wellness term. Andrew Steele, director at think tank The Longevity Initiative, hardly even used the word when writing his 2020 book on the science of ageing, Ageless. “It’s only in the past few years that it’s really taken off,” he adds. “It’s crazy.”

There are a few reasons for that sudden popularity. One: the biohackers. The likes of Bryan Johnson – a tech entrepreneur who reportedly spends some $2m per year on a rigorous anti-ageing protocol that includes 100 pills per day, plasma infusions and red-light therapy – have cemented the concept of anti-ageing ‘hacks’ in popular culture, stoking controversy and fascination in equal measure.

Second, there are the challenges arising from populations living longer, but not necessarily in good health. The impact on public health systems has forced governments and researchers to examine the benefits of preventing age-related disease.

Finally, there’s a steady slew of (seemingly) credible research unveiling new ways to turn back the clock and slow the so-called ‘hallmarks of ageing’ (see box, p31). One striking example was a 2018 study in which a cocktail of two senolytic drugs – those that eliminate harmful senescent cells that accumulate with age – was given to mice at the human equivalent age of 70 to 90 years old. Mice that received the drugs lived 36% longer on average. “They got less cancer, they got fewer heart problems, they got fewer cataracts,” says Steele. “They were less frail, so they could run further and faster on their tiny little treadmills.” One of those drugs, quercetin, is now commonplace in the longevity supplement market.

All of which has combined to turn longevity – or healthspan, or healthy ageing – into a pillar of the $2 trillion global wellness market. Up to 60% of consumers now say healthy ageing is now a ‘top’ or ‘important’ priority when it comes to their lifestyle choices, according to a global survey of 9,000 adults in the UK, US, China and Germany by McKinsey.

To be clear, with the exception of extremists like Johnson, this isn’t about living forever. “Longevity is often framed as simply extending lifespan, but the more meaningful lens is healthspan – how long we can live well, not just live longer,” outlines Hannah Samano, founder of consumer health platform Unfabled.

“For most people, longevity isn’t about extreme biohacking, it’s about maintaining strength, energy, cognitive health and hormonal balance across everyday life stages.”

A nutritional no-brainer

The connection between longevity and food is virtually irrefutable. “Food, drink and supplements have a real role to play here – particularly when they focus on nourishing, evidence-backed ingredients that support things like muscle and bone health, metabolic function and symptom management through key transitions,” points out Samano. “That’s where longevity becomes practical, relevant and achievable for more people.”

This isn’t all about high-end performance nutrition. Much of the established evidence flags the importance of simple dietary changes like healthy fats and plant proteins to improve healthspan. Studies of the world’s Blue Zones – parts of the world with longer-than-average lifespans – have repeatedly demonstrated the influence of diet. That could be the olive oil and omega-3s eaten in Sardinia, or the purple sweet potato and soy feasted upon in Okinawa, Japan.

Nonetheless, consumers are unlikely to see broccoli itself as a longevity booster, points out Amir Mousavi, food consultant and founder at Good Food Studio.

“Unfortunately, broccoli doesn’t really have brand equity, so you won’t find ‘big broccoli’ spending on those sorts of marketing expenses,” he says. “They’d be promoting their broccoli, yes – but also someone else’s.”

It’s why protein bar brands, rather than red meat suppliers, have been the quickest to cash in on the high protein trend, and it’s likely to be much the same with longevity. The commercial opportunity is strongest in those categories with clear brand equity and bigger marketing budgets, such as snack bars, but also functional drinks, convenience foods or superfood booster packs in easy formats. Think Zoe’s Daily 30+ blend.

As a result, fmcg manufacturers have begun rapidly experimenting in this space. Nestlé, for example, has launched several ‘healthy ageing’ products containing bioactive nutrients, as well as co-authoring research into longevity pathways. In China, it launched Yiyang Active powdered beverages, an adult milk drink that is touted as being “clinically proven to enhance mobility during ageing” through supporting bone, muscle and joint strength. Meanwhile, its Solgar nutritional supplement range contains GlyNAC, a patented blend of glycine and N-acetyl cysteine that is designed to help protect cells from daily damage.

At a Singaporean Food Innovation Summit held in November, Cargill also confirmed it was looking at food solutions that could support metabolic health. That same month, Danone acquired The Akkermansia Company, a Belgian firm developing a next-gen biotic strain of bacterium Akkermansia that could reduce inflammation and counteract metabolic disorders.

Retailers are entering the fray, too. In December, US health store chain The Vitamin Shoppe confirmed it was set to expand the rollout of its dedicated ‘healthy ageing aisle’. It says sales of cellular health products to support longevity have grown by 45%.

Snapping at the heels of these behemoths are a growing number of specialist startups. There’s Londevity, the London-based confectioner that says its functional hand-crafted chocolates contain 20-plus essential vitamins and pack the same anti-ageing punch as many longevity supplements, supporting metabolic balance, neuroprotection and DNA repair.

Meanwhile, Aussie-based brand Longevi, like Novos, has opted to go down the functional snack bar route. Its ingredients are a little more mainstream than its rival: each bar contains “antioxidants, minerals, fibre and collagen”.

Fatal missteps

For all the industry interest swirling around longevity, though, it can be a potential legal and reputational minefield for brands or retailers.

There is, after all, plenty of junk science floating around online, with some ‘longevity influencers’ erroneously pushing hacks that they claim can add decades to their followers’ lives.

Growing mistrust has already prompted scrutiny of the burgeoning longevity/anti-ageing supplement market, which is forecast to be worth some $7bn by 2030, according to Research and Markets. In 2024, a study funded by the NUS Department of Medicine in Singapore found many contained insufficient active ingredients to back up their claims.

Against this backdrop, the food industry needs to tread carefully with marketing claims. “The launch of products positioning themselves as ‘longevity foods’ or ‘longevity snack bars’ signals where the market wants to go, but from a scientific and regulatory perspective, broad longevity claims are extremely challenging,” says Mohammed Enayat, GP and founder of London longevity clinic Hum2n.

“In reality,” he adds, “the most robust and defensible approach is to focus on specific functional benefits, such as supporting metabolic health, improving satiety and protein intake, or contributing to gut and cardiometabolic health rather than claiming to extend lifespan outright.”

Kieran Fisher, founder of sports nutrition brand Warrior, agrees. “Broad longevity claims are difficult to substantiate, particularly in food formats,” he says.

“‘Longevity’ is an attractive buzzword that brands are leveraging, but it’s hard to regulate and can be easily overused. If brands can’t clearly explain how a product supports longevity, they risk losing credibility. The real momentum is in specific functional benefits, like creatine for muscle and performance. These claims are clearer, evidence-based and far easier for consumers to understand and trust. Brands that talk about capability, rather than fear of ageing, will get ahead.”

Pretty rigorous legal frameworks here versus the US will likely keep most longevity products honest. Products sold and distributed in the UK, for example, mustn’t stray from the ingredient claims listed on the Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. Though ‘ageing’ does make an appearance here – for example, B-caroten can be said to ‘counteract cellular ageing’ – it’s notable that there’s zero authorised mention of ‘longevity’ or ‘lifespan’ as a term.

“Credibility will become the defining currency of this space,” believes Enayat. “Brands that respect the science, work within regulatory boundaries and support consumers with education and services, not just ingredients, will be the ones that last.”

“Brands need to be conscientious and careful and create legitimate products,” agrees Mirabile. The team at Novos is actively looking to partner with brands and retailers to help them navigate “this complex terrain”.

Worth the squeeze?

Like immortality, then, longevity is a high bar. So, is the payoff worth it for brands? Yes, if you consider that the potential market for these products goes far beyond a few affluent biohackers, says Fisher.

“The core audience is health-conscious, performance-driven people who want to stay sharp, strong, and active for as long as possible. That includes younger consumers who train, busy professionals who care about energy and focus, and ageing athletes who don’t want to feel their performance drop drastically.”

Steele would widen it even further: “By far the bigger market is the 90-odd per cent of people who don’t know who Bryan Johnson is, have never heard of resveratrol or whatever it might be. They’re the ones with whom you can have the biggest impact.”

Crucially, it’s a definition that spans millions and millions of people. “There’s a really, really big prize there to for a supermarket or a company that can unlock this for a bigger fraction of the population,” adds Steele. “Everybody wants to live longer and healthier, and so if you can find a way to unlock that for the mass market, then it’s a win-win-win.”