Nutrition brand Zoe has “radically redesigned” its app in a bid to broaden its appeal and “make gut health mainstream”.
The new version of the subscription-based app – which had been “rebuilt from the ground up” Zoe said – 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.
A “friendly and motivating” AI chatbot called Ziggie also debuts within the app. It helps users understand the science behind Zoe and “build new routines that stick”. Meanwhile, gamification elements see users win beans for challenges like eating 30 plants a week, rising through various levels.
The app – with which “mindful eating is made easy”, according to Zoe – launches in the UK and US today following beta testing in the US.
The app is accessible without the need for a gut microbiome test for the first time, instead asking users simple questions and self-reported health metrics before they begin use.
The move meant it could be offered “at a much lower cost than ever seen before”, Zoe – in which The Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett is an investor – said. A three-month subscription costs £74.97, with a full-year subscription offered for £119.88 – making “cutting-edge health insights more accessible than ever before”.
“This launch is a major milestone for Zoe and how we think about health,” said Jonathan Wolf, Zoe co-founder and CEO. “Gut health is the biggest factor shaping how we feel today and how long we stay healthy – and it’s driven by what we eat. But Big Food has hijacked our diets for profit, spreading misinformation.
“Our new app helps members build mindful eating habits that can transform how they feel, despite everything Big Food throws at them. It’s also our most affordable offer ever, as we continue our mission to improve the health of millions,” Wolf added.
Subscription to the app gives users access to Zoe’s £149 gut health test, which involves them sending Zoe – which last year collaborated with M&S to launch a milk-based gut health shot – a stool sample, which is analysed to assess the health of their gut microbiome.
Testing provided “clear, personalised food recommendations to support a healthier microbiome”, Zoe having discovered the top 50 “good” and 50 “bad” microbes linked to health, it said.
“Members will also be able to retest and track changes over time, making gut health more personalised, dynamic and actionable than ever before,” Zoe added.
“For years, we’ve shown that your gut microbiome is related to health but we haven’t known how,” said Professor Tim Spector, Zoe’s co-founder. “Now, with over 300,000 gut samples analysed we know it’s crucial for how you feel every day and how you can add healthy decades to your life. Our gut microbiome test is simple but powerful and brings the newest way to measure health. It’s science in your pocket, and it will change your life like it did mine.”
Research conducted by Zoe – which last year embarked on swingeing cuts to its headcount in an urgent economy drive – found that 75% of Brits felt there was a lot of conflicting nutrition advice available, and 68% admitted that because of this, it was hard to discern “the real truth”.
The survey found nearly half (49%) of Brits don’t know what’s healthy in the supermarket, while 53% believe that something labelled “low fat” must be good for them.
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