Last month, we shared a key insight from our recent consumer study: most consumers aren’t waiting for a single personalized nutrition solution—they’re building their own.

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This month, we take a closer look at what that means in practice. What we found is less about all-in-one solutions—and more about how consumers are personalizing their own ecosystems.

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Consumers are Investing in a Personalized “Toolkit”

Because different consumers have different needs, they are investing in different tools to help them reach their goals. They’re layering multiple inputs across their daily lives, including:

• Foods and functional ingredients
• Supplements
• Fitness and health apps
• Wearables and trackers
• Guidance from healthcare professionals
• AI tools

Each piece plays a role. But no single product or solution is doing everything. That fragmentation isn’t necessarily a failure of the category. It’s a reflection of how consumers experience their health—across multiple decision points and evolving needs over time.

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Technology Is Accelerating the Behavior

Technology is playing a central role in how these ecosystems are built and managed. Nearly half of consumers report using apps regularly to track or manage their health, and 39% use AI daily or weekly to support their health goals.

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However, consumers struggle with interpreting their data and trust in AI remains low. Consumers want healthcare professionals to help them translate their data and recommend products and services to support their health goals.

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That gap between access and trust is shaping how these ecosystems are built and where they break down.

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The Hidden Complexity

Consumers are motivated, proactive, and willing to invest time and money into their health. But building and managing a personalized system is complex.

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Consumers are:

• Balancing multiple goals
• Interpreting different (and sometimes conflicting) inputs
• Adjusting without always knowing what’s driving results

Over time, that complexity can create friction and, in some cases, lead to disengagement. It may also helpexplain what we saw and shared in February: strong initial adoption ofpersonalized nutrition programs, but shorter-term participation.

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Where Brands Can Contribute

If consumers are already building their own ecosystems, the role of brands may be shifting. Rather than trying to own the entire experience, there may be more opportunity in:

• Solving for a specific role within theirecosystem
• Connecting more clearly to adjacent productsor services
• Supporting interpretation, not justdelivering recommendations
• Partnering across categories to reducefriction for the consumer

In other words, success may come less from building closed systems and more from integrating into the ones consumers are buying into.

Looking Ahead

As personalized nutrition continues to evolve, one question becomes increasingly important: How do we make these ecosystems easier to navigate—and more effective over time?

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That’s where we see the next phase of opportunity.