Zoe launches a unique supplement

Imagine if, rather than taking a pill, powder, or liquid, you took a daily nutritional supplement to add to your lunch or dinner? (We’re not talking about cupcake sprinkles. Sorry, that’s totally savory.) That’s the premise of the big new launch of personalized diet program Zoe. The company makes big claims that it’s invented an entirely new category of supplements. And to be fair, they’ve done just that.

Zoe, the personalised diet programme followed by over 100,000 Brits (you’ve probably seen them at the gym with the brand’s distinctive yellow continuous glucose monitor strapped to their arm), is making its second foray onto supermarket shelves on 17 July with the launch of a whole-food, plant-based supplement called Daily 30+.

Each scoop of Daily 30+ contains 32 (count them!) botanicals, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, seeds and functional mushrooms, and claims to “increase nutritional diversity and boost fibre intake”. Essentially, it’s a supercharged health boost to the avocado you eat on toast or in a stir-fry. It follows on from January’s much-hyped M&S Food x Zoe Gut Shot kefir health drink.

Zoe’s philosophy is that tweaking your diet to optimise your gut flora is the most powerful tool for improving your health, and the diet app has been gaining more and more attention since its launch in 2022. There were once 200,000 people on the waiting list, Davina McCall is now a brand ambassador, and founder Professor Tim Spector has been interviewed on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

So should we be excited about this new Zoe launch? It comes in a chic yellow tin and scoop (that will look great in your kitchen next to your tin of AG Greens. Read more about the best greens powders). A common criticism of supplements is that they’re just a shortcut to health, but this is an interesting move for a company that promotes a diet rich in diverse plants. I was one of the first journalists to try Daily30+. Here’s my review.

The crunchy mix of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, spices, seeds, nuts, legumes and whole grains — which looks a bit like granola — was created “to help people, especially those who are short on time, increase their plant and fibre intake in a tasty and easy way,” says Dr Federica Amati, a nutritionist who designed the product with Get The Gross-winning supplement brand Indy.

Zoe encourages people to aim to eat at least 30 different plants each week to improve their gut health, and taking this supplement once a day will help you achieve that goal. So does that mean you don’t have to seek out a variety of plants every week and can just take this instead? Dr Federica is adamantly against it: “This is not a replacement for a healthy diet and does not replace the plant diversity you are aiming for throughout the day or week – it adds to that plant diversity.”

To be honest, it might be quicker to just list what’s not included. To add variety to her diet, Zoe makes sure to include ingredients that you might not find in your local supermarket, says Dr Federica. Here’s the list:

• 8 types of fruits and vegetables: carrot flakes, red beet flakes, garlic, chicory root inulin, onion, garlic, baobab pulp, and buckthorn.
• Eight types of functional mushrooms: White mushroom, Chaga, Yamabushitake, Shiitake, Maitake, Tremella fuciformis, Reishi, and Cordyceps sinensis.
• 5 herbs and spices: thyme, parsley, turmeric, cumin and rosemary.
• 6 seeds: flaxseeds, grape seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds.
• 3 types of nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts.
• Two types of legumes and whole grains: red lentil flakes and puffed quinoa.
• Plus, nutritional yeast flakes are a great source of B vitamins and packed with umami flavor.

According to Dr. Sarah Berry, Zoe’s lead scientist, one scoop (15g) per day “improves digestive health, energy, gut microbiome composition and reduces hunger,” findings from Zoe’s independently conducted Daily30+ randomized controlled trial.

What makes this product different is that it uses real, minimally processed whole foods instead of the synthetic junk foods found in many supplements (like some protein powders).

A 15g spoonful provides 5g of fibre, which your gut bacteria loves to eat; the NHS recommends 30g a day, which is remarkable considering 90% of Brits are deficient in fibre, according to research commissioned by Public Health England. One serving also contains 4g fat, 3g protein and 63 calories.

Daily30+ contains B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, selenium, and omega-3, all at 5-18% of your recommended daily intake. These are lower percentages than your average multivitamin, and they’re also less widely distributed (it doesn’t contain vitamin C, for example). But because Daily30+ is made from real foods, the bioavailability of the nutrients may be greater than if you were to take a vitamin supplement. “We made this product from whole foods to preserve as much of the food matrix as possible,” says Dr. Federica. A food matrix is ​​”the effect that the physical and chemical properties of whole foods have on how your body breaks down and uses the nutrients locked up within the food.” Simply put, your body should absorb more of the good stuff and feel fuller for longer.

Unless you have a very unusual taste, avoid sprinkling it on your porridge or Greek yogurt. Ingredients like turmeric and garlic make it a flavoursome meal option. Zoe says it can “boost the flavour” and add texture to lentil and bean-based dishes, omelettes and scrambled eggs. It’s meant to be enjoyed as part of a meal, not hidden away.

Waitrose is selling single-serve snack packs for £2.25, with a seven-day introductory pack costing £10 (£1.43 per day).

If you buy from zoe.com, a one-month pack costs £39 (£1.30 per day) or a four-pack subscription costs £133 (£1.11 per day). Prices drop to £33 and £113 respectively for Zoe members, who pay £25 for access to the app. If you buy online you get a free tin and scoop.

At first glance, it looked like a fancy version of the seed sprinkles packets used to top salads, and the price was right. I’m picky about food, but this was a lot better than I expected. It was very flavorful, with a strong herbal and garlic taste. I think it would be good to have it on its own as a snack.

Sprinkling it on my homemade poke bowls at dinner time makes an already hearty meal even more filling. In fact, it’s so rich that I only need a half-spoon. I feel satisfied knowing that my dish, which already had nine different plants, now has 40. It’s taken my already healthy habit of maximizing plant diversity to a whole new level.

My usual breakfast is homemade sprinkle mix, Greek yogurt, and fresh fruit. I realized that I already eat most of the seeds and nuts included in Daily 30+ (hurry, someone give me a hello), so I’ll pass on that meal option and have scrambled eggs instead. This is what I really love about this supplement. Since egg dishes can be bland, I often season them with za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice mix. Daily30+ adds texture, crunch, and flavor to achieve the same effect.

Plus, it’s my new favorite salad improver. I often make a salad for lunch, but it’s missing enough protein and fiber to leave me feeling full, and by 4pm I’ve covered my biscuits in truffles, but adding this really adds weight to a bland or unappealing salad.

I was very impressed with the taste and was able to easily incorporate Daily30+ into my diet, but as with any supplement, there is the question of cost. Do I need to pay £39 per month to achieve optimal gut flora health? Of course, it’s not Zoe’s fault that the rich-poor health gap is widening, but this bothers me, so I asked Dr Federica. “We consider Daily30+ to be good value for money, but we recognise that it is out of reach for many,” she acknowledges, but points out that “it is not the only way to eat healthily.” She also points out that Zoe has a wealth of free content available to everyone, including blogs and newsletters. Well, okay. I’d recommend trying a few Zoe Daily30+ snack packs from Waitrose and starting from there.

Zoe Daily30+ is available in Waitrose, zoe.com From July 17th