Microbiome innovation is entering a new era, expanding beyond probiotics and prebiotics to include synbiotics, postbiotics, HMOs, and even bacteriophages. This award celebrates the most forward-thinking branded or own-label supplements, functional foods, and beverages designed to support numerous health functions, and overall well-being through targeted microbiome modulation.

Today’s products are increasingly focused on feeding the full microbial ecosystem, not just isolated strains — using upcycled and novel fibres, metabolite-rich formulations, and multi-strain synergies to promote microbiome diversity and resilience. With growing interest in the gut-brain-skin axis, and technologies that enable precision delivery, this category recognises excellence in science-led innovation, format creativity, and consumer relevance in the microbiome space.

This award celebrates the best branded or own-label supplements, functional foods and beverages for modulating the microbiome to improve health.

Our Judges will look at how your product meets specific needs and will base their scores on your evidence to demonstrate:

• Whether your product meets a genuine consumer demand, and how relevant the core ingredient is in meeting this demand
• Evidence that the product works for its specified use, including peer reviewed data to back up any performance or health claims made
• Brand recognition and the commercial success of your product, including evidence of strong retail and consumer interest or listings of your product.
• Packaging design, consumer appeal, ease of use and innovation
• Evidence that your product and its delivery system(s) has no, or beneficial, impact on bioavailability (especially if citing single ingredient data).
• What gives your product the ‘X factor’ – something that makes it stand out from the crowd and edge out the competition (including evidence to back up claims)
  

To view the entry questions for this category, click to download

REQUIREMENT: Entries for the NutraIngredients Europe Awards Product of the Year categories are required to have the finished product commercially available in Europe.
Entry holders for this category are also required to submit 4 samples of their finished product for judging to William Reed's headquarters in the United Kingdom. More details & instructions will be shared when an entry is submitted.