Memory, sleep, stress resistance: Studies show that mental health not only has to do with the mind, but also with the gut. Probi has been researching this interaction for decades. The Swedish company has been fully owned by Symrise since 2025. The ever-closer cooperation creates innovations and opens up new fields of business and markets.
From the time of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, medicine has linked digestion to health. He considered the gastrointestinal system the starting point of many illnesses — an idea that modern science has largely confirmed. Today, researchers understand that the gut microbiome plays a central role in overall well-being. Scientific evidence increasingly shows that certain strains can influence immune resilience, digestive health, cognitive and mental health, metabolic health, oral and bone health as well as skin condition. The microbiome is no longer viewed as a single-purpose system but as a complex regulatory interface connecting and impacting multiple bodily functions.
This expanding understanding is driving intensive research worldwide. Probi, a Swedish company in which Symrise has held a stake since 2012 and which it took over completely last year, is also working on that. The company has been researching the microbiome, the ecosystem of bacteria living in the human body, for decades. Probi’s strains are backed by more than 125 clinical studies, and over 450 scientific publications.
“In the four clinical studies on HEAL9® Probi conducted, the probiotic strain was shown to support and improve cognitive performance, as well as memory, mood, sleep and stress.”
Anita Johansen,
CEO of Probi
Probi’s pioneering probiotic strain is Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299V (LP299V®). It is the foundation for the company’s long-standing commitment to scientific rigor, documented efficacy and consumer trust. LP299V® is one of the most extensively researched probiotic strains in the world, tested in more than 60 clinical studies and documented in over 170 scientific publications. Its benefits span multiple aspects of digestive health. Importantly, the mode of action of LP299V® is well understood, giving healthcare professionals and consumers clear insight into how the strain interacts with and supports the gastrointestinal environment. This scientific foundation is particularly relevant today, as nearly half of the global population experiences at least one gastrointestinal disorder on a regular basis.
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HEAL9® – a microorganism originally isolated from a healthy human intestinal mucosa – is another current example of a product that the company developed. “In the four clinical studies on HEAL9® Probi conducted, the probiotic strain was shown to support and improve cognitive performance, as well as memory, mood, sleep and stress,” explains Anita Johansen, CEO of Probi.
These studies first proved the positive effects above all for the immune system, then for the connection between the gut and the brain. A recent study with older test persons also showed that HEAL9 reduces inflammation-related aging processes – known as “inflammaging” – while improving mental performance. For Probi, this is far more than just fascinating research. “These results mark an important milestone for us,” says Anita Johansen. “They show the potential of our probiotic solutions for people who want to support their brain health their whole life long.”
With the launch of Mental Health by Probi® and its probiotic strain HEAL9®, the company is targeting a rapidly growing market: According to the World Health Organization, around 280 million people suffer from depression, one in four people are affected by mental stress at some point in their lives, and around 30 percent report persistent sleep problems. Consumers are increasingly looking for science-based natural solutions, thus creating a billion-euro market in which food, supplements and functional drinks are becoming increasingly intertwined with traditional health supplements. “We are seeing strong commercial momentum as well as a real consumer need in this area. That’s why we’ll keep on investing in research and development in a targeted way in order to create health solutions that are suitable for everyday use,” says Johansen.
“Symrise’s sensoric expertise, application laboratories, analytical research and consumer insights help us develop and expand to new categories faster.”
Christina Vegge,
Vice President Research & Development at Probi
In the years since Symrise took a stake in it, one thing in particular has changed for Probi: The collaboration between the two has increased. The teams now work much more closely together, get to know each other’s portfolios and jointly identify new areas of innovation and growth. “Being part of Symrise opens up completely new opportunities for us,” says Anita Johansen. Probi’s scientific expertise, clinical experience and decades of microbiome research are paired with the Group’s access to global markets, sensory expertise and application laboratories.
Food supplements, where Probi already has an established market position, is the traditional market for clinically-proven probiotic ingredients. However, the Food & Beverage segment also has great potential, formulating Probi’s strains into more experiential applications, combining them with flavors and adapting them for new target groups. Probiotic supplements for companion animals is likewise a future market: After more than 35 years of focusing on clinically tested probiotics for humans, Probi has launched its first solutions for pets. Additional studies are needed for further applications – as well as technological developments to deliver effective solutions that are accepted by animals.
Christina Vegge explains how a marketable product is created: “Our innovation process follows a structured model with which we can efficiently manage innovation and product development projects,” says the Vice President Research & Development at Probi. It always starts with an unfulfilled consumer need. Based on this, Probi examines the market potential, develops concepts and evaluates risks. Only then does the development work begin: “We first test the effectiveness, develop production processes and carry out stability studies. This is particularly important because probiotics are live cells that are sensitive to moisture and heat,” says Christina Vegge. The researchers tackle these challenges with protective ingredients, optimized production processes, temperature controls and suitable packaging. Only when a product meets the success criteria, it really goes into production. A new probiotic active ingredient with solid scientific documentation can take more than five years to develop, while new product formats and food applications can be developed much faster.
The impetus for innovation comes primarily from consumer insights, internal research and new microbiome discoveries, complemented by academic collaborations, technology scouting and close cross-functional cooperation. Moving forward, data-driven evaluations and AI-assisted analyses will also play an increasingly important role. Probi sets high standards for its research. “Our gold standard evidence is randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. On top of that, there are safety data, preclinical research and proof of stability,” says Christina Vegge to explain the approach. The collaboration with Symrise colleagues significantly accelerates this work: “Symrise’s sensoric expertise, application laboratories, analytical research and consumer insights help us develop and expand to new categories faster.” As part of that, it is extremely important that science and commercialization go hand in hand.
A global footprint
Probi was founded as a university spin-off in Sweden in 1991. With 155 employees, the company now operates in more than 40 markets and holds numerous patents. Probi has three central locations: the headquarters in Lund, Sweden – supplemented by a small sales office in Singapore – and two production sites in the United States, where probiotic cultures are fermented in Redmond, Washington, and finished product formatting and packaging is carried out in Lafayette, Colorado. The company has also built up a global network of external production partners.
A bridge between research and sales is needed so that innovations reach the customer. That is one of the tasks of Yannick Leën, who is responsible for commercial integration. He ensures that Probi’s solutions reach customers worldwide via Symrise’s global distribution network. In his day-to-day work, that primarily means opening doors, as Yannick Leën describes the process: “For example, a Symrise sales manager can introduce us to an international beverage or supplement manufacturer with whom Probi had no previous contact – and then we talk with them about a clinically proven solution to support digestive health, help combat stress or promote cognitive health.”
The ability to make differentiated solutions to B2B customers has also improved: Probi is a vertically-integrated company that can deliver either the ingredient alone or the finished packaged supplement in capsule, tablet or stick pack format. With Symrise health active solutions, flavors and application expertise there are even more ways to deliver differentiated and complete solutions to consumer problems. The outlook for the markets is therefore positive: “Europe and North America remain strong, Asia-Pacific is growing dynamically and Latin America is catching up,” says Yannick Leën. What ultimately convinces customers is the combination. “Probi’s clinical data creates trust and efficacy. Symrise contributes scaling, application expertise and regulatory security.”
With its full integration into Symrise, Probi can continue to grow – and at the same time strengthen Symrise’s new beauty & health platform. “We’re just getting started,” says CEO Anita Johansen. “But the combination of strong clinical research, new application formats and international reach gives us the opportunity to accelerate our pursuit to improving lives through the science of biotics.”
“Probi’s clinical data creates trust and efficacy. Symrise contributes scaling, application expertise and regulatory security.”
Yannick Leën