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It’s easy to get swept up in the news and activities of the industry’s global titans, but what about the smaller firms that are out there flexing their creative muscles? In this instalment of ‘Start-up of the month’ – which celebrates the lesser-known companies and their innovations – we speak to Molly Livingstone, director of creative and communications at Wonder Veggies, an agri-food technology company creating a new category of probiotic fruits and vegetables.

What inspired Wonder Veggies' inception, and what excites you most about the company's mission and products?

With the 'food as medicine' trend, we can see consumers are more demanding of healthy and accessible food options, looking for better-for-you options to replace or complement the choices of convenience and processed foods. Our modern lifestyle has had a direct and negative effect on our gut bacteria. The imbalance has led to poor gut health that compromises our immune system and can cause many chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, anxiety, depression, insomnia, obesity, cancer and autism. Overwhelming research in the past few years has established the gut-brain axis, recognising the gut as our 'second brain' and critical to our overall health and wellness.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria known to have a positive impact on our gut microbiome. When I met three brilliant Israeli researchers – Oded Shoseyov, Betty Schwartz and Lilach Iasur-Kruh – who have worked for five years on a technology to enrich fresh vegetables and fruits with healthy probiotics, I knew I was looking at the future of fresh produce. Imagine you could enjoy your favourite vegetables and fruits packed with the power of probiotics, wouldn’t that be a wonder?

How is Wonder Veggies overcoming the challenges faced by the food industry?

The food industry is facing the ever-growing consumer demand to get more out of their food. Nutrition security is becoming a big mission of the industry involving public and private initiatives, like the recent White House’s ‘Food is Medicine’ initiative, inspiring innovation to improve our overall and gut health. We also need to take into consideration that as significant as the benefit is, consumers are unwilling to compromise on taste. That was the basis for Wonder Veggies technology and our near-universal formulation, naturally enriching many types of vegetables and fruits with healthy probiotics. We can keep the produce’s organoleptic properties, freshness and great taste.

Growers want new technologies to be integrated seamlessly with their existing processes, in the field or their production facilities, without adding significant processing time or cost. That is why our formulation was designed to be applied at the pre-harvest stage in the field or the post-harvest stage in the production facility.

How do you see the company disrupting the market with its probiotic-infused fruits and vegetables? What sets it apart from other products in the industry?

Well, consumers are ready for this 'future of produce' probiotic vegetables and fruits category. In a recent survey conducted by a third party for one of our grower partners in the US, a leading company in its field with multibillion-dollar annual revenues, >80% of the consumers demonstrated a strong buying intention, and >30% were willing to pay an average premium of over 20%.

No probiotic fresh vegetables and fruits exist today so we are expecting a big splash when we launch the first products together with our partners in 2025. Current options for consuming probiotics are extremely limited. Dairy products do not address lactose intolerant or vegan consumers. Their bioavailability is low due to the poor protection against the acidity of the stomach, killing most of the probiotic bacteria on their way to our gut. They also do not have enough fibres (prebiotics), the probiotic bacteria food, to allow effective colonisation of the probiotic in our gut. Fermented foods like kimchi are niche products and have a very distinct taste that may not appeal to the average person.

Food supplements are costly and hard to swallow, and because the probiotic bacteria are freeze-dried, they do not always colonise in our gut. Probiotic vegetables and fruits are the only products with no consumption limitations – we all eat them, right? They offer very good protection against the acidity of the stomach due to our ability to allow them to penetrate inside the tissue of the fresh produce and provide the fibres (prebiotics) required for effective colonisation in the gut.

As a lifestyle brand, how do you plan to engage and connect with consumers beyond just selling products?

Our strategy is focused on partnering with existing growers to build this novel and exciting category. While our relationship is with the businesses, we are always focused on the consumers’ wants and needs. We will continue to use our social media platforms as a way to advocate for consumers and educate the public about gut health.

Through influencers, champions and the health community, as well as point-of-sale activities, we hope to engage our audience and create a new generation of like-minded people on a global scale. Collaboration with growers and bagged salad companies is a key aspect of Wonder Veggies' strategy.

Can you discuss how you plan to maintain and strengthen these partnerships?

We are offering our partners a complete solution, including the formulations and application protocols, pre-harvest and post-harvest, to make the integration process as easy and seamless as possible.

What role do you think innovation plays in the success of Wonder Veggies, and how do you stay ahead of the curve in terms of product development?

I think product innovation is the key here. Consumers are demonstrating a strong buying intention for probiotic fresh produce. Growers and retailers are always looking for a 'new story' to increase their revenues through market share and premium products. Our know-how was developed with several years of research and we are about to receive our first granted patent, with more achievable milestones in the near future, I’m sure that we will stay ahead of the curve. I invite everybody to stay tuned.

The incorporation of probiotics into fruits and vegetables is quite novel. How do you ensure the efficacy and stability of probiotics in your products?

The essence of our technology is creating a formulation that allows the probiotic bacteria to penetrate, propagate and survive inside the tissue of the vegetables and fruits throughout their entire shelf life. The innovation lies in our ability to transform the probiotic bacteria into endophytes (beneficial bacteria that live inside the tissue of the plant), providing them protection against the acidity of the stomach, and creating the ultimate delivery system with no consumption limitations and the highest bioavailability.

We are actually creating a very powerful synbiotic effect, combining the prebiotics (the fibres of the fresh produce) with the probiotics. That allows them superior survivability against the acidity of the stomach and the much-required fibres for effective colonisation in our gut. In a study we have conducted at a third-party lab, we have demonstrated superior bioavailability compared to the global leading probiotic yogurt drink.

Wonder Veggies aims to appeal to a wide range of consumers, including those with lactose intolerance and vegans. How do you plan to communicate the benefits of your products to these diverse audiences?

Currently, people with lactose intolerance and vegans do not have the option to consume yogurt or any other probiotic dairy products, so our work here is relatively easy. We are providing them and the rest of the consumers with the best probiotic delivery system, natural, fresh, tasty, with superior bioavailability. We will, of course, promote our products to these consumers who have not had the accessibility they need to probiotics in today’s market.

Sustainability is increasingly important in the food industry. How does Wonder Veggies approach sustainability in its production processes and packaging? We are working to reduce the volumes of our stock formulation, so shipment impact is minimal. We are also focused on a simple, clean production process, as sustainability is very important to us.

And finally, for aspiring start-ups in the F&B sector, what valuable advice or insights would you share to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities in this dynamic industry?

Always look for an unmet need aligned with the current trends, and as the road is long and bumpy sometimes, pick the right partners and colleagues and make sure you are all passionate about the opportunity.