A word with

Federica Zanzottera

Senior manager Marketing & Tech
BD EMEA at dsm-firmenich

Member of AgroFOOD Industry Hi Tech's Scientific Advisory Board

Federica has over ten years of experience in the food supplement industry, spanning sales, product development, and marketing. At dsm-firmenich, she leads market strategy for the Health from the gut portfolio across EMEA, covering biotics, digestive enzymes, HMOs, and innovative ready to market concepts. Earlier in her career, she worked as a biotechnologist in a hospital setting, contributing to stem cell–based research in hair health and presenting her findings at international conferences. A nutritionist with a strong passion for science backed ingredients, she is dedicated to helping people and customers make the most out of effective nutraceutical solutions.

The concept of “microbiome‑mediated healthy aging” is gaining momentum. Why is restoring microbiota balance critical for healthy longevity and overall wellbeing?

Restoring microbiota balance is fundamental for healthy longevity because the gut microbiome plays a central role in how the body ages. As we get older, the gut ecosystem naturally loses diversity and stability, allowing harmful microbes to increase while beneficial ones decline—a shift known as dysbiosis. This imbalance weakens the gut barrier, enabling inflammatory signals and microbial by‑products to enter circulation and place chronic stress on the immune system. Over time, this persistent, low‑grade inflammation accelerates systemic aging and contributes to a decline in metabolic, immune, and cognitive resilience.


Because the gut communicates continuously with the rest of the body, its dysfunction affects far more than digestion. Supporting and restoring microbiota balance helps preserve gut barrier integrity, reduce inflammation, and maintain a resilient internal environment. This makes microbiome health a key leverage point for protecting health span—not just life span—and for supporting overall wellbeing as we age.

How does dsm‑firmenich approach this hallmark of aging?

dsm‑firmenich’s approach focuses on restoring microbial balance and resilience, recognizing that microbiome diversity and composition are closely linked to biological age. Rather than attempting to eliminate “bad bacteria,” the strategy aims to support a stable, diverse, and functional microbiome capable of coping with age‑related stressors.


This strategy comes to life in Nourish & Protect, a consumer‑ready cap‑in‑cap solution that targets dysbiosis through a dual action combining Humiome® Post LB (postbiotic) and Humiome® B2 (the first biotic vitamin). Instead of addressing symptoms of aging, it supports the gut ecosystem at its root.

Humiome® Post LB is a clinically studied postbiotic shown to support gastrointestinal wellbeing and gut barrier integrity—essential during aging, when a weakened gut wall can accelerate systemic inflammation. By helping maintain barrier resilience, it supports a more stable microbial environment.

Humiome® B2 is the first vitamin specifically designed to nourish and protect the gut microbiome. It supports microbial diversity, network stability, and the production of short‑chain fatty acids such as butyrate—key metabolites that decline with age and are critical for gut and immune health. Its strong antioxidant activity also enhances microbiome resilience.

Together, the two ingredients deliver a dual, complementary benefit:

  • Protect the gut barrier and gastrointestinal comfort
  • Nourish the microbiome to support diversity, resilience, and beneficial metabolism

This mechanism aligns directly with healthy longevity principles: reducing inflammatory drivers while supporting the body’s natural capacity to remain resilient over time.

How is Nourish & Protect positioned in today’s market, and what sets it apart?

Nourish & Protect is positioned as a next‑generation gut health solution that goes beyond traditional digestive support to address dysbiosis as a root factor in healthy aging. While many products focus on short‑term comfort or generic longevity claims, this solution uniquely sits at the intersection of gut health and healthy aging, supporting health span rather than simply relieving symptoms.


Its differentiation lies in its science‑led approach combining microbiome nourishment and gut barrier protection in a single solution. By pairing the clinically studied postbiotic Humiome® Post LB with Humiome® B2, the first biotic vitamin, it moves beyond conventional probiotics or standard vitamin formulations. Rather than relying on live bacteria or aggressive “reset” strategies, it follows a restore philosophy—supporting microbial balance, diversity, and beneficial metabolism that decline naturally with age. This makes the product’s longevity positioning both credible and distinctive, helping people age better starting from the gut.

How does this product respond to the demand for increasingly personalized therapies aimed at holistic well‑being?

Nourish & Protect meets the demand for personalized and holistic wellbeing solutions by shifting from one‑size‑fits‑all symptom management to supporting a core biological system that shapes individual health trajectories: the gut microbiome. Instead of tailoring a formula to a specific condition, it supports microbiome resilience—an inherently individual ecosystem that varies widely from person to person and evolves over time.


This makes the product naturally aligned with personalization, as it works with each person’s existing microbiome rather than imposing standardized live strains or requiring complex diagnostics. From a holistic standpoint, the solution reflects growing scientific recognition that the gut influences immune, metabolic, cognitive, and systemic resilience. By addressing dysbiosis as a root cause of declining wellbeing, Nourish & Protect supports multiple dimensions of health simultaneously.


Crucially, it offers personalization in an accessible, scalable way—supporting biological processes that allow the body to self‑regulate and stay resilient with age. This makes it highly relevant as consumers increasingly seek personalized outcomes such as improved energy, immunity, and healthy aging through science‑based, integrated solutions.

Nourish & Protect contains a postbiotic, even though the definition of “postbiotic” still has grey areas. How was Humiome® Post LB developed?

Although the regulatory definition of “postbiotic” is still evolving, this category is rapidly gaining importance thanks to high scientific validation, excellent stability, and broad applicability across product formats.


Humiome® Post LB is a pioneering postbiotic with strong evidence supporting digestive and immune health. It contains a unique combination of two proprietary bacterial strains—L. delbrueckii (CNCM I‑4831) and L. fermentum (CNCM I‑2998)—together with their fermented medium and active metabolites, and is supported by more than 40 scientific studies.


Its quality is ensured through a proprietary ECHO fermentation process that enriches, concentrates, and heat‑treats microorganisms to deliver fully stabilized products with consistent quality across batches.


Humiome® Post LB stands out for three increasingly important attributes: safety, stability, and scientific validation.


It has a strong safety profile with no risk of translocation, no antibiotic resistance, and compliance with self‑GRAS and QPS standards. It is also exceptionally stable, tolerating harsh manufacturing processes and storage without refrigeration—a major advantage for formulators and consumers.

With global recognition and long‑standing clinical use in nearly 40 countries, Humiome® Post LB brings scientific credibility, ease of formulation, and proven digestive benefits, positioning it as a highly differentiated and reliable next‑generation postbiotic.