DANIELA SEGOVIA LIZANO¹*, JO GOOSSENS², SIAN ASTLEY³, RACHEL BERRY¹, PAUL FINGLAS^1,3
*Corresponding author
1. Quadram Institute Biosciences, Norwich, United Kingdom
2. shiftN, Brussels, Belgium
3. EuroFIR AISBL, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

The abundance of online personalised nutrition services, and the integration of artificial intelligence in wearables and apps as elements of these services, are part of the global trend for personalisation. With respect to diet, however, most of these resources lack scientific rigour, which can potentially diminish consumer trust and compliance. The non-for profit Quisper^® Association aims to provide scientifically validated personalised nutrition resources to third parties delivering personalised diet and health services to consumers, as a way of improving the quality of this advice. Formation of an independent Quisper Scientific Advisory Board (QuiSAB), and the creation of a personalised nutrition community around Quisper^®, are amongst the crucial steps taken to develop and support more science-based personalised nutrition resources and advice.

INTRODUCTION

The term ‘personalisation’ is defined as ‘making something suitable for the needs of a particular person’ (1). This concept has been used and applied widely to new ideas, products, and services in recent years. Start-ups have incorporated this idea to improve sales, as a marketing strategy for branding and advertising, and to improve consumer satisfaction. According to the Precision Consumer 2030 report (2), when an item is designed specifically based on individuals’ data, consumer behaviour and engagement shift with these products or services. Thus, it is not surprising that personalisation has reached other sectors, like health (personalised medicine) and, more recently, nutrition. Sequencing the human genome boosted opportunities for personalised nutrition by integrating genetic information to profile nutritional requirements. Currently, the personalised nutrition market is estimated to be worth around $11bn globally (3). However, a lack of consensus around a definition for personalised nutrition has confused consumers (4), which could have a negative impact on trust, uptake and compliance with commercial services.