What are postbiotics?

There's a vast disconnect between the number of bacterial species which meet the clinical and regulatory requirements to be labeled "probiotic" vs. those that actually coexist within or on the human body. The dairy industry successfully brought probiotics into the mainstream of social consciousness, which made it viable for brands across nearly every segment to add commercially-cultured probiotic strains to their products and market the purported benefits. But why are we taking these supplements and willing to pay a premium for products fortified with probiotics? When we look at exploiting microbes for commercial applications or to seek clinical outcomes, we're interested in the postbiotic metabolites created during fermentation. These by-products include organic acids found in kombucha and other fermented foods that aid in digestion, reduce inflammation, and a variety of other health-supporting roles in the human body. There's hardly a guarantee that lab-grown encapsulated strains of one or several specific bacterial species added to a food just prior to packaging will result in a desired health state for an individual consuming these products. We believe it is our responsibility to educate our consumers so that they may make better informed purchasing decisions. 

At best, it's irresponsible to use the upward trending marketability of probiotics to sell products to under-informed customers. There's little doubt that we'll begin to see major brands in food and beverage shifting their marketing efforts to focus on the benefits of postbiotics in the coming years.