Ingredient branding supports consumer understanding of postbiotics

Consumers today are navigating an increasingly complex landscape of health and nutrition.

While science-driven health claims may influence purchasing decisions, consumers sometimes find them difficult to understand, making trust and transparency essential. Thanks to this shift, the postbiotic industry is rapidly expanding, especially following the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) definition established in 2021.

According to Innova Market Insights, around 12% of consumers actively seek postbiotic ingredients in food and beverage products, yet the category has demonstrated rapid momentum, with growth reaching 57% over the past four years.¹

A key driver behind this expansion is the inherent stability of postbiotics. As non-viable microorganisms, they can be incorporated into a much wider range of applications, such as gummies, snacks, and beverages.

As their application expands across categories, the competitive focus is shifting. The challenge is no longer simply whether postbiotics can be formulated into products, but how their value is communicated to consumers. In this context, ingredients that combine clear functional benefits, strong scientific validation, and a distinctive brand identity will be best positioned to stand out.

Against this backdrop, Morinaga Milk’s postbiotics are emerging as a compelling platform for both science and branding, providing a practical example of how this can be translated into real product differentiation.

A postbiotic solution for immune support

According to FMCG Gurus, maintenance of normal immune system function claims are attractive across a wide range of generations when choosing food and beverages.^2-5 In response, Morinaga Milk has developed a heat-killed L. paracasei MCC1849 (LAC-Shield) as an immune support postbiotic strain.

As a scientifically validated postbiotic strain with immune-enhancing properties, LAC-Shield exhibits the capacity to stimulate the production of interleukin-12 (IL-12), a critical cytokine that plays a pivotal role in regulating the immune system by bridging innate and adaptive immunity.

A 2024 study demonstrated that LAC‑Shield activates plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which could provide a first defense against viral infection, mainly through the production of type I interferons (IFNs) which play an important role in supporting immune cells such as Natural Killer (NK) cells, B cells and T cells.⁶

Among seven clinical studies, one double-blind randomized, controlled trial (RCT) involving 241 healthy women over 18 years old, conducted over 12 weeks, included a subgroup analysis of individuals susceptible to the common cold in the previous year.⁷ Results showed that those who consumed LAC-Shield (10 billion cells/day) had significantly reduced incidence of common cold, total duration and severity of symptoms after 12 weeks.

Another study conducted with LAC-Shield 50 billion cells/day including 200 healthy adults both men and women for 24 weeks indicated the total number of stuffy nose and cold-like symptoms were significantly reduced in the LAC-Shield group.⁸ Also, the duration of stuffy nose, sore throat and cold-like symptoms was significantly lower in the group.

These results suggested that oral intake of LAC-Shield may suppress the subjective symptoms in adults. Moreover, Morinaga Milk has also conducted clinical studies with a wider population including elderly individuals.

Supporting mood through the gut-brain axis

According to FMCG Gurus, interest in mental wellness products is surging across all age groups, but particularly Gen Z and Millennials show the highest interests. These groups often favour convenient formats and place greater emphasis on self-care and relaxation.⁹

Proportion of consumers interested in ingredients, food and beverages associated with boosting mood

In response to this trend, LAC-Living+（L. helveticus MCC1848）is a unique postbiotic strain developed with a focus on the connection between the gut and the brain.

While the positive effects on brain health have gained attention, Morinaga Milk has conducted studies to investigate whether LAC-Living+ has potential to support brain function and mood.

Among three clinical studies, the two RCT studies demonstrated that daily administration of 5 billion cells of LAC-Living+ for 4 weeks in healthy adults led to improvements in mood-related outcomes, as assessed by Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition (POMS2), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).

Specifically, significant improvements in friendliness and vigor-activity scores of POMS2 were observed, along with an increase in the VAS “being relaxed” score at week 4, suggesting maintenance of a more positive mood state over time.

In addition, participants showed a significant increase in positive affect score in PANAS while negative affect scores remained stable compared to placebo, indicating a consistent result. This demonstrated that LAC-Living+ is effective in maintaining and improving positive mood, particularly under transient stress conditions.^10-11

Differentiating postbiotics: Achieving a unique end application

Morinaga Milk’s postbiotics stand apart by using intact, inactivated single-strain cells that are directly quantified, ensuring reproducible dosing and predictable biological outcomes. This is what allows Morinaga Milk’s clinical data to translate reliably into commercial products.

Morinaga Milk’s postbiotics are single, well-defined bacterial strain selected from Morinaga’s thousands of culture collections. One of the most distinctive advantages of Morinaga Milk’s postbiotics is that the inactivated cells retain their complete morphology throughout processing and into the final product.

This structural integrity allows Morinaga Milk to directly measure cell counts even in finished commercial formulations. As a long-term partner with its B2B customers to provide reliable product quality and support around the product, Morinaga Milk can suggest the most suitable measurement method depending on the application.

Bringing science to life through branded ingredients

A brand is the sum of impressions and expectations that consumers form toward a company or product through the accumulation of their individual experiences.

Based on this perspective, Morinaga Milk focuses on developing branded ingredients and incorporating its functional benefits into finished products. By doing so, the company goes beyond simply delivering functional value and communicates the tangible benefits that consumers can realize in their daily lives. This approach enhances the added value of final commercialized products and ultimately strengthens the overall brand value.

Logos and brand names play a critical role in helping consumers visualize these values and messages, transforming them into clear and relatable “solutions” that consumers can easily understand.

The versatility of postbiotics makes many applications possible due to their stable characteristics. It can be used not only in supplements, but also in food such as dairy snacks, drinks, etc. This means that consumers can more easily access these products and incorporate functional biotics into their daily diet through familiar food formats.

Therefore, Morinaga Milk has developed logos for postbiotic ingredients to deliver a consistent brand image across a wide range of applications and global markets.

LAC-Shield

Always adapting: take advantage of the potential of postbiotics to help people progress with the ever-changing rhythms of daily life. The logo design symbolizes children, adults, and the elderly, with the shape designed to symbolize intestinal bacteria.

It shows that postbiotics have unlimited possibilities that can be adapted to promote the health of all people, both young and old. The graphic that makes up the symbol is also an abstraction of the letters L, A, and C.

LAC-Living+

Uplift your body and mind: This design expresses positive lifestyle for the mind and body brought by LAC-Living+, using a light-hearted smile as its motif. The brand mark uses lavender, a color known for its psychological relaxing effect.

Differentiation through science and branding

Morinaga Milk’s postbiotics, LAC‑Shield and LAC‑Living+, stand out through their single strain origin and proprietary quantification technologies, ensuring consistent quality and reliable functionality. Combined with strong scientific evidence, technical support, and branded marketing strategies, this enables clear differentiation while making Morinaga Milk’s customers’ product benefits more accessible to consumers.