The Youth Lab

Self Maximising - A Core Tenet Of What It’s Like To Be Young Today.
Gen Z grew up in a world of algorithmic optimisation, just look at any young persons feed and you’ll see different versions of becoming their ‘best selves’ so it makes sense they’re bringing the same mindset to their bodies (this isn’t the first time we’ve explored self optimising, check out our 52INSIGHTS on Wellness and Looksmaxxing) but this time around, it’s a gut feeling.

What’s powering the surge:

• Health anxiety meets control: gut health feels “doable”, and worth doing with recent links to mental health.
• The GLP-1 era: Due to the popularity of Ozempic - satiety, blood sugar, and appetite control are now part of pop wellness conversation (and fibre is being framed as a natural ally).
• Protein fatigue: consumers are ready for “the next nutrient” and fibre is perfectly positioned.
• A claims arms race: product launches with gut/digestive positioning keep accelerating.

Not Just A Supplement Fad: The Great Shelf Shift

Fibermaxxing, despite the chronically online name, isn’t staying in supplement land. It’s moving into everyday formats because the winning functional products don’t ask people to change their life, they just ask them to swap brands for a meaningful nutritional upgrade.

Ireland is primed for fibre-led growth because we have both the consumer need and the food infrastructure. According to the National Adult Nutrition Survey, average fibre intake is around ~19g/day, below commonly cited adult targets (often ~30g/day).

And the industry is responding fast:

• Functional foods are big business: one industry estimate puts the global functional foods market at ~$329.65 billion (2023), projecting it to reach $586.06 billion by 2030.
• Gut positioning is accelerating: with innova market data witnessing a 42% growth in the launch of food and beverage launches carrying digestive health claims.

Wellness Culture: Functional Drinks As Status

If you want a single aisle that captures the shift, it’s beverages.

Over the past year, TikTok’s Food & Beverage landscape has been increasingly dominated by wellness-led content. According to Kantar Data, ‘Beverage Wellness’ is now the fastest-growing F&B category on the platform (+427% YoY), with related themes like Gut Health (+93% YoY) and Health & Wellness (+64% YoY) also surging.

We’re watching soda get “wellness-washed” - not with vitamin lists, but with functional ingredients that signal legitimacy: prebiotics, adaptogens, nootropics, fibre, paraxanthine. The can hasn’t changed much, the meaning has - what used to be indulgent is now optimised.

This is especially true in celebrity-led wellness brands, where function is positioned not just as a health benefit but as identity. This week alone, Kim Kardashian joined the relaunch of energy drink “Update” - a paraxanthine-led beverage marketed as delivering “focused energy for the moments that matter.”

This is taken one step further by US retailer Erewhon’s smoothie collaborations, (think Nara Smith and Hailey Bieber) which effectively turn functional ingredients into pop culture merch, from collagen, sea moss and protein add-ins to highly “shareable” wellness recipes.

Poppi - The ‘Gut Health’ Power Play
We couldn’t discuss functional wellness without mentioning the brand, currently leading gut health on social media - Poppi.

Poppi hasn’t just created a healthier alternative; they’ve rebranded soda as a wellness accessory. Classic cola cues, bright colours, nostalgic branding, playful flavours - now reformulated with prebiotic fibre and digestive positioning. Indulgent in taste, functional in promise.

But formulation doesn’t create cultural dominance. Messaging does.

Poppi is currently averaging 28.0M weekly TikTok views, with paid promotion amplifying reach and pushing the brand beyond wellness into entertainment. This year, Poppi sealed its cultural moment with its Super Bowl campaign, “Vibes,” starring Charli XCX and Rachel Sennott.

No microbiome lectures, no clinical claims.

The ad didn’t sell fibre - It sold a feeling.

And Now: UK Launch
Today marks another milestone, following an acquisition by Pepsi in 2025, Carlsberg and Britvic have announced that Poppi will officially launch in the UK, signalling the global expansion of the prebiotic soda category.

What Does This Trend Really Signal
Functional foods are succeeding because they align with a deeper generational mindset:

Health is no longer reactive. It’s proactive.
Optimisation is a daily pursuit.
And small upgrades feel powerful.

The winning brands understand that this isn’t about fibre alone.
It’s about giving consumers the feeling that they’re improving themselves - effortlessly.

Brand Takeouts

1. Make function like a lifestyle upgrade, not a lecture
The brands winning in functional food aren’t leading with science, they’re leading with culture. Protein succeeded because it was framed as performance (stronger, fitter, fuller), not biochemistry. The next wave of functional ingredients will win when they signal a lifestyle upgrade - sharper focus, better balance, everyday control

2. Design for lazy optimisation
The future isn’t extreme health routines, it’s small swaps. Fibre-fortified staples, “prebiotic versions” of familiar products (like Poppi), and habits people can repeat.

3. Prove it (without getting too science-y)
Simple language, clear front-of-pack cues, and credible education that doesn’t overpromise.

4. The right collaboration can help build cultural credibility
The right brand or celebrity partnership can turn function into something culturally relevant and desirable — accelerating awareness while making wellness feel socially fluent, not clinical.