US supplements brand Vital Nutrients has launched a multivitamin gummy for kids featuring effera, a precision-fermented human lactoferrin protein by Helaina.
Precision-fermented proteins are now targeting children’s nutrition.
US supplements specialist Vital Nutrients has partnered with New York startup Helaina to roll out a multivitamin for kids that uses Helaina’s recombinant lactoferrin ingredient, effera.
Lactoferrin is a whey protein found in both human breast milk and bovine colostrum immediately after birth, but is present at significantly higher concentrations in the former.
Helaina is leveraging precision fermentation to make a bioidentical version of human lactoferrin for use in supplements for kids and adults alike.
Its effera ingredient is paired with micronutrients, fruits and vegetables in Vital Nutrients’s Mighty Multivitamin Without Iron, which is designed to support children’s attention, immune health, and metabolism.
“Even in well-intentioned households, maintaining a balanced diet for children can be challenging when preferences favour familiar, less nutrient-dense foods,” said Meagan Purdy, a naturopathic doctor, brand manager and educator at Blueroot Health, parent company of Vital Nutrients.
“We developed Vital Nutrients Kids to help bridge those gaps with child-friendly formats that support consistent daily nutrition without adding complexity to a parent’s routine.”
Human lactoferrin offers multiple advantages over bovine version
Lactoferrin is the most highly concentrated bioactive protein in breast milk. An iron-binding glycoprotein, it is revered for its antiviral, antibacterial, immunity-boosting, and gut-strengthening properties, and is used to treat low iron levels during pregnancy, lower the risk of respiratory tract infections, and enhance metabolism.
Producing purified lactoferrin is difficult, so supply is limited and costs are astronomical. Precision fermentation enables companies to overcome this bottleneck by inserting DNA into microbes to teach them to produce lactoferrin during fermentation.
Helaina ferments a yeast strain, Komagataella phaffii, in bioreactors. The microbes are fed a specific set of nutrients to produce the protein, which is filtered out from the fermentation broth at the end.
The startup explains that bovine lactoferrin only shares about 70% homology with the human milk version, which can influence how efficiently the protein is recognised, absorbed and utilised by the body.
Effera can offer several advantages over cow-derived protein, including enhanced biological recognition, greater digestive stability, and improved intestinal absorption.
“Unlike bovine-derived proteins, bioidentical proteins are designed to match the structure and function of proteins naturally present in the human body, enabling greater biological relevance, consistency, and clinical reproducibility,” Helaina founder and CEO Laura Katz told Green Queen in January.
Vital Nutrients the latest brand to tap effera’s benefits
Helaina’s recombinant breast milk protein can be used across an array of applications, from functional foods and longevity-minded products to women’s health, infant formula, and kids’ nutrition.
Lactoferrin presents a wide range of health benefits for children. It strengthens immune defences, lowers respiratory infections and gastrointestinal symptoms, supports healthy iron levels, provides anti-inflammatory support, maintains a healthy gut microbiome, and aids in the transition after breastfeeding.
That’s what Vital Nutrients is banking on with the effera-powered multivitamin gummies. They contain six phytonutrient-rich fruit and vegetable concentrates, minerals such as biotine, iodine, choline, and folate, as well as vitamins A, B (including B12), C, D and K1.
They’re designed to “fill common nutritional gaps” in children aged 2 and above and to support energy, focus, and overall wellness. They provide the same antioxidant support as 40 wild blueberries, and have a 2:1 ratio of soluble to insoluble fibre for better digestion and a healthy gut microbiome.
The multivitamins are free of the top 9 allergens, as well as of gelatin or pectin. And Vital Nutrients says adults can take the meltable tablets, too.
Having self-determined effera as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in the US, Helaina’s ingredient has now been formulated into around a dozen consumer products across women’s wellness, gut health, recovery, performance, and kids’ nutrition.
The startup is attracting the interest of industry giants, too – earlier this month, it signed a deal with Nestlé to advance research on bioactive proteins and develop baby formula using effera. Speaking of, Nestlé itself has filed a patent to produce beta-lactoglobulin from precision-fermented donkey milk for infant nutrition.
