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MyAir plans to expand personalised adaptogen products to UK

After launches in Japan and the US, B2B personalised nutrition company MyAir is eyeing the UK market with its white-label functional food and drink products. “Taste is a must – but it's not enough,” says its CEO. “Food has become functional and personalised too.”

MyAir, which has already conducted a seed round and plans to do a Series A fundraising round in 2024, has a database of thousands of healthy plant bioactives and the scientific research underpinning each one. Using this information and generative AI, it develops formulations for personalised food and drink products that are tailored to the end user’s health needs thanks to the inclusion of botanical ingredients and adaptogens.

The Tel Aviv-based startup has a B2B business model and the white-label platform it developed can be branded with a B2C company's branding and logo. It is already working with functional food and drink manufacturers in Japan and the US, where it has developed personalised and functional drinks, cookies, granola, and chocolate, and it is currently looking to expand to the UK.

Adaptogens are ‘technology from nature’

"My Air is all about smart food for mood,” said MyAir founder and CEO, Rachel Yarcony. “We started with stress because it's the global silent killer – more than 83% suffer from it – and we can solve stress with our functional foods. The future of food is hassle-free and [our] process is very easy.”

MyAir collects data from a health questionnaire that the consumer fills out via the app or website. This information is combined with data on the individual’s physiological biomarkers gleaned from his or her smartwatch or other personal connected devices. Its product development platform then determines which functional ingredients are needed to improve specific elements of that person’s health.

To beat stress, the company focuses on using adaptogens that Yarcony describes as “active molecules from super plants [that] help you adapt to your environment”.

“It's technology from nature,” she added. “Each one of those plants has its own research but our IP is the formulation and the personalisation”.

The result is that “you can really see the effect of your nutrition on your mood”, she added.

Garmin partnership collects biomarker data

The startup recently partnered with the smart watch manufacturer Garmin and, along with Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, carried out a pilot study to test the efficacy of its products that contained adaptogenic ingredients such as hops and terpenes. Participants were equipped with Garmin vívosmart activity wearables that monitored their sleep duration, sleep quality, and stress levels before and after eating MyAir products.

“We proved that our formulation reduces stress for 80% of users and increased sleep quality for 84% of users,” Yarcony told Ingredients Network. “We could see it in their physiological biomarkers [and] most of the people felt an effect after five days."

MyAir recommends eating one bar a day and it bases the dosage of the functional ingredients in each bar accordingly.

‘Taste is a must – but it’s not enough’

MyAir’s algorithm also takes into account the sensory characteristics of the food or drink product, such as taste, texture, mouthfeel, and appearance to ensure consumer acceptance.

"I come from Nestlé and taste is a must,” Yarcony said. “It's a must but it's not enough. We are at the third generation of food. At the beginning, it was only about taste, then about health and now we have become not only functional but personalised too.”

The platform also takes into account regional taste and format preferences, the CEO said.

“Our strategy is to think global and act local. In Japan, we don't sell [bars] at all, we infuse our formulations in other products that are relevant to the local market. For example, Japanese consumers don't like sugar; if you compare to US clients who love sugar, it's so different.

"We don't use masking [agents]; everything is very natural and you can really taste the plants. Some people feel it is a bit bizarre and new but this is the taste of nature and we don't believe in more ingredients, we want clean label."

Describing MyAir products as premium, Yarcony said its clients tend to price the products at between 20 to 30% more than standard food or drink products.