Global Prebiotic Association – 2025 Year in Review
A Year of Stewardship, Clarity, and Category Leadership
2025 was a defining year for the Global Prebiotic Association. As attention on gut health, metabolic health, and microbiome science continued to accelerate, so did the need for credible education, responsible communication, and steady leadership. Throughout the year, GPA remained focused on doing what it does best: stewarding the prebiotics category with science-forward guidance, practical education, and thoughtful engagement across industry, research, healthcare, and regulatory stakeholders.
Advancing Education Where It’s Needed Most
Education sat at the center of GPA’s work in 2025, with an emphasis on filling real gaps in understanding rather than amplifying surface-level trends. Early in the year, GPA hosted a sports performance-focused webinar that set the tone for a year of targeted, application-driven conversations.
In March, GPA held its first annual Prebiotics Symposium during Expo West. The decision to host an in-person event was intentional. Many GPA members had expressed that high-quality, prebiotic-specific education was often lacking at larger trade shows, where broader microbiome conversations can dilute scientific nuance. The symposium was designed to create a more dynamic environment for learning, discussion, and relationship-building, while reinforcing GPA’s role as a credible authority uniquely positioned to deliver rigorous prebiotic education. Just as importantly, it helped expand GPA’s footprint and visibility within the industry in a way that virtual formats alone cannot.
Throughout the year, GPA continued to host and participate in webinars that addressed both foundational and emerging topics. These included a Q2 webinar focused on prebiotic effects, the October session on prebiotic misconceptions, and two year-end conversations that reflected where science and the market are converging: Unleashing the Microbiome’s Full Potential with SupplySide JRNL, and Gut Check: The Microbiome, GLP-1, and the Future of Biotics, a Nutraceuticals World webinar featuring Len Monheit.
GPA also participated in the Seventh Scientific and Practical Conference with International Participation: Use of Dietary Supplements – When, For Whom, and For What Purpose, held in collaboration with the food supplement industry in Ukraine. This engagement reinforced GPA’s commitment to supporting the global market.
Navigating GLP-1 and Synbiotics with Intent
Few topics shaped industry conversation in 2025 as strongly as GLP-1 therapies. As consumer use expanded and product claims became more aggressive, GPA took an active role in helping members approach this space responsibly. The organization produced internal and external GLP-1 guidance, including clear “do and don’t” frameworks to support appropriate communication and formulation considerations.
Building on this work, a GLP-1 white paper and formulation guide entered post-production this year, with publication expected in early 2026. These resources are intended to help brands and ingredient suppliers navigate a complex and highly scrutinized landscape with science, clarity, and restraint.
At the same time, GPA continued to advance its leadership in synbiotics. A synbiotics white paper was produced and updated in 2025, as interest in combined biotic approaches continues to grow. This work reflects GPA’s broader commitment to evidence-based frameworks that recognize how prebiotics function within more complex systems, without oversimplifying or overstating benefits.
Global Presence and Regulatory Engagement
GPA strengthened its global and regulatory engagement throughout 2025, reinforcing its role as a connector between science, industry, and policy. This included meetings with Health Canada and participation in the CHFA Forum, where regulatory considerations around prebiotics and related claims were a central focus.
The association maintained an active presence at key industry events, including Vitafoods Europe in Barcelona, Vitafoods Asia in Bangkok, IFT’s first annual Expo in Chicago, CHFA East in Toronto, FNCE in Nashville, and SupplySide Global in Las Vegas. GPA also participated in a UNPA webinar on prebiotics and engaged directly with retail dietitians through a collaborative event with Olipop at FNCE, supporting continued practitioner outreach.
Strengthening Community, Visibility, and the Ecosystem
Building a strong, engaged community remained a priority in 2025. GPA launched an updated member portal to improve access to resources and streamline communication across committees and membership levels. The Prebiotics Showcase was refreshed and featured at multiple trade shows, highlighting member products alongside the NutraStrong™ Prebiotic Verified ingredients and brands, and serving as a tangible representation of the category and GPA’s progress.
GPA also supported and facilitated Global Prebiotics Week in November, helping amplify education and awareness through coordinated messaging and outreach.
To support long-term growth of the ecosystem, GPA introduced two new membership levels this year. The Academic & Clinician membership was designed to deepen engagement with researchers and healthcare professionals, while the Emerging Brand membership aims to support early-stage brands entering the prebiotics space with credible guidance from the outset.
GPA was pleased to welcome several new members in 2025, including Hivebev, Icon Foods, Nutrileads, Carobway, Nutraberry, Seventure Partners, and MUSB Research reflecting continued interest in thoughtful, science-driven category participation.
Looking Ahead: Why Credible Science Matters More Than Ever
If 2025 underscored anything, it is that credible science is no longer a “nice to have.” Increased consumer scrutiny, the rise of GLP-1-related claims, and growing litigation risk around overstated benefits have made clear that evidence, transparency, and precision are essential
Consumer research from Industry Transparency Center continues to show that trust, clarity, and substantiation influence purchasing decisions more than ever. At the same time, regulatory attention is intensifying, and the cost of getting claims wrong is rising.
As attention on gut health, metabolic health, and synbiotic formulations continues to grow, GPA sees its role as helping the category move forward responsibly. That means asking harder questions, supporting better education, and providing tools that allow innovation without compromising integrity. It also means continuing to serve as a steady, credible voice in a space that can easily become crowded with noise.
Looking to 2026, GPA remains committed to stewarding the prebiotics category with science-first leadership, practical guidance, and collaboration across the global ecosystem.