Nutrition brand Zoe is launching a crowdfunding campaign, to fund as part of its ambition to sequence more than one million individuals’ gut microbiomes.
The company – which earlier this month launched a “radically redesigned” its app in a bid to broaden its appeal and “make gut health mainstream” – hopes to raise around £1m in the Crowdcube hosted fundraise.
“This isn’t growth for growth’s sake. It’s about building something that lasts,” Jonathan Wolf, Zoe co-founder and CEO told The Grocer.
While the crowd-fund will raise cash, the main aim is to drive up the number of user gut microbiomes Zoe can analyse. A microbiome is the trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes living in our guts and is unique to every individual.
The company has a “bold ambition” to sequence a million microbiomes, having already gathered data on around 300,000. The bigger dataset, combined with Zoe’s proprietary artificial intelligence engine, known internally as GutEngine, and existing research will allow it to “really understand the impact of individual microbes” on various health markers.
“The scale of such a data set will allow Zoe scientists to study the links between individual microbes and inflammation, heart and cholesterol health and fat distribution,” Wolf said.
“It’s as much a community science project as it is a company. The raise is about explaining what we’re doing, to get people excited about the mission, and continue the work of our gut health revolution.”
It’s the company’s second crowdfund, it’s last in 2022 attracting more than 12,000 investors and broking UK records for female participation in a fundraise.
In 2023, Zoe attracted £2m in investment from The Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett but last year embarked on swingeing cuts to its headcount in an urgent economy drive.
Three million people interact with Zoe each month, be it via the Zoe app, its podcast and Daily30+ wholefood supplement.
The crowdfund comes after Zoe launched a new version of the subscription-based app – which had been “rebuilt from the ground up”. It features AI that allows users to take a photo of any meal to “understand exactly what is in it – and its impact on your body”. The app also includes a ‘Processed Food Risk Scale’ – originally launched in March – allowing users to scan product labels and barcodes to see whether it is “high risk” for their health.
“Big Food still controls what most people eat, regulators move too slowly and the system is broken. This is a huge global crisis. If we want to fix it, we can’t wait,” Wolf said.
“We’re asking our community to join us in saying enough is enough - it’s time for a gut health revolution that can transform the health of millions. This fundraise allows all our members to take matters into their own hands, and be part of shaping the future,” Wolf added.
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