Lois Mo, Marketing Director, Health & Wellness, APAC, ADM As consumer interest in emotional well-being, stress relief, and better sleep surges, the demand for innovative, science-backed health solutions is reshaping…

Lois Mo, Marketing Director, Health & Wellness, APAC, ADM

As consumer interest in emotional well-being, stress relief, and better sleep surges, the demand for innovative, science-backed health solutions is reshaping the functional food and beverage landscape. At the forefront of this evolution is ADM, which recently partnered with Asahi Group Foods Corporation for the exclusive distribution of Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305, a postbiotic ingredient supported by eight human clinical trials.

In this in-depth interview with NUFFOODS Spectrum, Lois Mo, ADM’s Marketing Director for Health & Wellness in APAC, discusses the unique advantages of L. gasseri CP2305, its clinically validated benefits across mood, stress, sleep, women’s health, and exercise recovery and how ADM plans to bring this ingredient to life across regions and product formats. From decoding consumer trends to tackling formulation challenges, Mo shares how this next-generation microbiome solution is poised to drive the future of functional wellness.

What inspired ADM to partner with Asahi Group Foods Corporation for the exclusive distribution of Lactobacillus gasseri CP2305?

At ADM, we’re dedicated to building upon our health and wellness solutions and capabilities to bring forth the next wave of functional foods and meet people where they are on their wellness journeys. Partnering with Asahi Group enables us to bring a new microbiome solution targeting stress, mood and sleep into our health and wellness library.

The market is seeing a surge in demand for products targeting mental health and emotional well-being, which is translating directly to interest in functional foods supporting stress management, mood regulation and sleep quality. Globally, only 26 per cent of consumers say they wake up feeling refreshed either most or all the time¹. As such, many consumers are not satisfied with their sleep, and they also recognise that poor sleep may impact mood, stress, energy, concentration and overall quality of life¹. Concurrently, gut microbiome research is demonstrating an interconnection between the gut and the brain or the gut-brain axis, which has put a spotlight on the possibilities with microbiome solutions to support different areas of well-being.

With stress, mood, and sleep support becoming fast-growing wellness segments, how does L. gasseri CP2305 stand out from other ingredients targeting these needs?

L. gasseri CP2305 stands out from other health and wellness ingredients because it is a resilient postbiotic solution backed by eight human clinical trials, six of which are pertinent to stress, mood and sleep. Generally, microbiome solutions may only have one or two published clinical trials, setting L. gasseri CP2305 apart with eight studies, instilling confidence in the postbiotic’s targeted areas of support.

Substantiated by these robust clinical trials, a key differentiator of L. gasseri CP2305 is that it may support reduced stress, while simultaneously improving sleep quality and promoting a balanced mood^2,3,4. L. gasseri CP2305 addresses consumer demand for holistic wellness solutions that go beyond digestive health to support emotional well-being.

Additionally, postbiotics can withstand tough formulation environments like high heat commonly associated with formulations like snack bars, thus opening the door to new, on-trend and convenient functional offerings that can easily fit into consumers’ everyday routines.

With a combination of clinically validated benefits and unmatched formulation flexibility, L. gasseri CP2305 is an advanced solution that empowers brands to deliver on the evolving needs of modern consumers.

Can you share insights from the eight human clinical trials backing the effectiveness of L. gasseri CP2305? What specific results are most promising?

Across eight clinical trials, L. gasseri CP2305 has demonstrated support for stress, mood and sleep, along with specific factors relevant to women’s health and for supporting recovery after exercise.

The clinical trials suggest supplementing one’s diet with L. gasseri CP2305 may support emotional well-being, reduce stress, better sleep efficiency, reduce time to fall asleep/sleep latency, healthy overall sleep quality and improve total sleep duration^2,3,4. In particular, sleep is a big unmet need and not many solutions are available to consumers. Three of our clinical trials showed improvement in sleep efficiency, duration and time to fall to sleep based on validated questionnaires; and two of them validated these data using objective measures (electro-encephalograph)^3,4.

Two trials focused on women’s health across ages^5,6. Among young women 21.5 years old on average, supplementation with L. gasseri CP2305 may support positive changes in physiological and emotional parameters, positive moods, and reduce stress/anxiety⁵. In addition, this trial demonstrated positive effects on vaginal discharge, and improved skin appearance⁵. These women experienced a reduction in occasional constipation as well⁵. L. gasseri CP2305 may also support positive changes in physiological and emotional parameters in women experiencing menopause based on two validated questionnaires⁶.

When examining potential support for exercise recovery, another study finds L. gasseri CP2305 may reduce levels of stress and occasional fatigue associated with exercise, improve stress levels in male athletes, improve recovery from exercise in male athletes and support mitochondrial health⁷.

Additional effects of L. gasseri CP2305 revolved around the bowel movements, with individuals experiencing relatively low frequencies of defecation or high frequencies of bowel movements8. The improvement recorded with L. gasseri CP2305 coincided with a decrease in faecal p-cresol and an increase in Bifidobacterium content, whereas the content of Clostridium cluster IV was significantly decreased⁸. The same study assessed the potential mechanism of action linking the L. gasseri CP2305 supplementation to changes in the sympathetic to parasympathetic nerve activities⁸. The effects on bowel movements and microbiome modulation were further confirmed by Sugawara and colleagues⁹.

How does ADM plan to integrate L. gasseri CP2305 into its existing health and wellness solutions, and what kinds of functional food products can we expect to see?

With the addition of L. gasseri CP2305, we’re eager to help push forward functional food innovations formulated to manage everyday stress and mood and assist people across regions in supporting a good night’s sleep. It provides another pioneering microbiome solution to our customers, expanding functional food possibilities. For example, at Natural Products Expo West 2025, we showcased L. gasseri CP2305 in several concepts, including a brownie brittle concept to help consumers unwind with a decadent snack, and in a raspberry blood orange dark chocolate bar concept specifically designed to support women during their cycle.

What challenges and opportunities do you see in expanding the distribution of L. gasseri CP2305 to North America, Europe, and Asia?

As a global company with local teams and capabilities, ADM is perfectly positioned to support and grow the distribution of L. gasseri CP2305 in North America, Europe and Asia. Moreover, we have been at the forefront of microbiome research, leveraging our extensive solutions portfolio and network of scientists and formulation experts to support our customers in seamlessly incorporating pre-, pro- and postbiotics – and now L. gasseri CP2305 – into a variety of functional foods, ultimately helping bring what’s next in health and wellness to consumers across regions.

Looking ahead, how do you see the demand for postbiotics evolving, and what role will innovative ingredients like L. gasseri CP2305 play in shaping the future of the health and wellness industry?

Proprietary ADM consumer research finds that postbiotics are starting to rise in familiarity due to consumers associating them with similar benefits of probiotics¹⁰. What will spur more demand for postbiotics, specifically, is the recognition from food manufacturers of the vast possibilities with these strains since they can retain their functionality throughout various formulation conditions. As a heat-stable ingredient, L. gasseri CP2305 overcomes the traditional challenges of probiotic viability, enabling it to be incorporated into a wide range of product formats. With this adaptability, we see postbiotics like L. gasseri CP2305 as the next frontier of functional food innovation, and we’re committed to supporting ongoing research around postbiotics.

¹FMCG Gurus, Top Ten Trends for 2025

²Nishida, K., et al., (2017) Journal of Applied Microbiology 123:1561-1570

³Nishida, K., et al., (2017) Journal of Functional Foods 36:112–121

⁴Nishida, K., et al., (2019) Nutrients 11:1859

⁵Nishida, K., et al., (2021) Journal of Functional Foods 80:104426

⁶Sawada, D., et al., (2022) Nutrients, 14:1695

⁷Sawada, D., et al., (2019) Journal of Functional Foods 57:465–476

⁸Sawada, et al., (2016) Food Research International 79:33-39

⁹Sugawara, et al., (2016) Microbial Ecol Health Dis.

¹⁰ADM Outside Voice℠

Shraddha Warde

shraddh.warde@mmactiv.com