Gut health supplement brand Myota has closed a $4.5m (£3.4m) fundraise as it seeks to expand its ingredients offering to food & drink manufacturers looking to squeeze more fibre into their products.
The Series A round, led by VC firm PeakBridge, will be used to fund a dedicated B2B sales operation in the US and Europe, support the rapidly scaling DTC business and extend the company’s clinical research.
London-based Myota is founded by computational biologist Thomas Gurry and microbiome scientist Kat Stennett, who has years of experience scaling fast-growing tech companies. It sells patented prebiotic fibre blends aimed at supporting digestive and metabolic health, as well as fibre snack bars.
Last year, the business launched a global partnership with Joe & The Juice to supply the chain with its clinically validated prebiotic fibre powder. It has also signed supply agreements with an unnamed coffee alternative brand and has product development underway with household names across dairy, bakery, and functional beverages.
“Fibre is one of the most powerful and overlooked levers for human health, and for years the products on shelves haven’t done it justice,” CEO Kat Stennett said.
“What’s been missing is fibre that works across real, varied microbiomes and stands up to clinical scrutiny. That is what we’ve built, and it’s why companies across F&B, foodservice and wellness are coming to us to put genuine, claimable benefits into their products.
“This round lets us meet that demand at scale.”
The brands capitalising on fibremaxxing
Chief scientific officer Thomas Gurry added: “We can measure how an individual’s gut bacteria ferment different fibres, and we use that to build blends that produce short-chain fatty acids reliably across very different microbiomes.
“Our randomised controlled trials have shown improvements in insulin sensitivity, blood sugar control, inflammation and mood, including stress and anxiety. That evidence base is what separates a functional ingredient from a marketing claim.”
Myota said its blends were built from proprietary research into how to combine fibres to maximise short-chain fatty acid production reliably, while minimising the gastrointestinal discomfort accompanying high fibre intake.
PeakBridge managing partner Yoni Glickman added: “Most gut health products are a marketing story built on one or two commodity fibres.
“Myota built and patented the science first and then validated the outcomes in clinical trials. We saw fibre becoming a pillar of modern nutrition five years ago, backed Myota early, and we’re proud to continue supporting their excellent team now.”
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