Superbrewed Food launches postbiotic ingredient beyond protein

US foodtech company Superbrewed Food, known for producing single-cell protein through biomass fermentation, has launched Thryvia, a new postbiotic ingredient designed to support digestive and immune health, according to AgFunderNews. The Delaware-based startup is expanding its business beyond its protein product SB1 as it seeks to address growing demand for functional ingredients.

Thryvia is made from the same protein-rich bacterium used in Superbrewed Food’s fermentation platform but has been developed for much lower doses. While SB1 is designed to be incorporated at around 10 to 20 grams per serving, Thryvia is intended for approximately 200 milligrams per serving.

The ingredient can be used in a broad range of products, including capsules, powders, gummies, bars, foods and beverages. According to AgFunderNews, its formulation is also designed to work in shelf-stable products and formats that undergo high-temperature processing.

Superbrewed Food began commercial production of its protein ingredient in Europe earlier this year through a manufacturing partnership with Döhler. The company now sees Thryvia as a way to expand its commercial reach without waiting for a major increase in production capacity.

“This isn’t a move away from the protein opportunity,” Superbrewed Food cofounder Bryan Tracy told AgFunderNews. “Customer interest and demand for our postbiotic cultured protein (SB1) remain strong. The constraint is capacity: raising the capital required to build substantially beyond what our Döhler partnership can currently produce remains a real challenge.”

The company developed Thryvia to address a different market opportunity. Because the ingredient can be used at a much lower inclusion rate, Superbrewed Food believes it can support several customer launches with its existing manufacturing footprint.

“We’ve developed Thyrvia as a postbiotic with functionality at much lower inclusion levels, which addresses a different customer need and value proposition,” Tracy said.

The launch comes as food and supplement companies increasingly look for ingredients that can provide digestive and immune support while remaining compatible with different manufacturing processes.

Unlike probiotics, which contain live microorganisms, postbiotics are based on inanimate microorganisms or their components. Their non-viable nature can make them easier to incorporate into products that require processing, extended shelf life or storage at room temperature.

According to Superbrewed Food, Thryvia is produced from a heat-killed, non-viable strain of Clostridium tyrobutyricum. The strain received a GRAS “no questions” letter from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2024, according to the company.

The company says the ingredient can be incorporated into products that would present greater formulation challenges for traditional probiotics. Probiotics can face stability and processing limitations because they need to remain viable, while prebiotics can require higher inclusion levels.

“Because Thyrvia is non-viable, its functionality does not depend on maintaining live-organism viability through manufacturing, distribution and shelf life,” Tracy said.

The company is positioning Thryvia as a postbiotic whose activity comes from proteins contained within the fermented biomass. Tracy said this differentiates it from other postbiotic ingredients based on beta-glucans, metabolites or secondary metabolites.

Superbrewed Food is also building an evidence base to support potential health-related claims. According to Tracy, laboratory testing has shown selective activation of receptors involved in pathways related to innate immunity, inflammation and gut barrier function.

Animal studies have provided what the company describes as translational evidence of intestinal and host-response activity. A four-week consumer perception study also reported self-reported improvements in several measures of digestive comfort.

However, the company acknowledges that additional human research is needed. Tracy said that appropriately designed clinical trials will be necessary to substantiate specific structure-function claims, depending on the claims customers intend to make.

“Human evidence is absolutely required, with the level of rigor required depending on the specific claim a customer intends to make,” Tracy told AgFunderNews.

Superbrewed Food plans to continue developing this evidence base through human studies and other evaluations. The company previously sponsored two human clinical trials for SB1 and says it intends to apply a similar approach to Thryvia.

The startup has also appointed Michael Bush, a veteran of the nutraceutical industry and former president and CEO of Ganeden, as chairman of the board.

“As someone who has spent years in the microbiome space, I know exactly what it takes to bring a category-defining ingredient to market — and Thryvia has that potential,” Bush said.

According to Tracy, interest in the new ingredient is already coming from potential customers evaluating SB1. The company believes the two products can complement each other as food and supplement brands move beyond traditional macronutrients and look for ingredients with additional functional benefits.