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As consumers increasingly seek foods that support healthier lifestyles without sacrificing enjoyment, the food industry is being challenged to rethink how everyday products deliver both nutrition and taste. In this Q&A, Alessandro Boggiani, CEO of Millbio, shares his perspective on the rise of GLP-1 influenced eating behaviours, the growing demand for functional foods, and the role of science-led innovation in meeting these changing expectations. He also discusses Millbio’s approach to developing next-generation bakery solutions, the importance of cross-sector collaboration, and the trends he believes will shape the future of food over the coming decade.

Which key challenges or opportunities in food-tech are you most focused on right now, and how is your organisation working to address them?

One of the key shifts we're tracking is GLP-1. Public data, such as NHS prescriptions and reimbursement figures, only reveal part of the story. Beneath that, millions are privately self-funding treatment, a number set to rise further as oral formats remove the injection barrier.

Alongside this is a much larger cohort we describe as the GLP-1 mindset consumer: people not on medication but actively eating less, prioritising protein and fibre, and focusing on gut health to achieve similar outcomes.

Together, these groups are reshaping expectations of what “healthy” looks like, even for everyday staples like bread. Our response has been to ask a fundamental question: can bread align with this shift rather than work against it, without compromising on quality or taste?

That challenge led to the development of Panvivo GLP1ve, with our partnership with Thimus focused on applying neuro-testing to demonstrate that better-for-you doesn't have to mean worse-tasting.

What innovations, capabilities, or expertise are you most excited to share with the Future Food-Tech audience this year?

We're bringing Panvivo GLP1ve, our bread concentrate designed specifically to support the GLP-1 pathway, alongside independent sensory trial data from our work with Thimus. Panvivo GLP1ve combines advanced prebiotic fibres, sprouted cereal grains, pulse flour, enhanced protein sources and sourdough cultures, each ingredient chosen for a specific functional role, from feeding the gut microbiome to extending satiety, all clean label. It's a drop-in solution, so bakers can adopt it without significant reformulation. But the part we're most excited to share is what happens when you put that ingredient to a genuinely objective test. We partnered with Thimus, whose neuroscience-based methodology reads consumers' implicit brain and sensory responses to food rather than relying solely on what people say in a survey. We've run Panvivo GLP1ve bread head-to-head against a mainstream household loaf. This type of data goes beyond typical taste-panel claims. We'll be revealing what we learned at Future Food Tech.

What mindset or strategic shift do you believe leaders across the food system need to adopt now to deliver meaningful, scalable change?

Stop treating nutrition and taste as a trade-off. For years the industry has quietly accepted that ‘healthier’ means ‘less enjoyable’ and consumers no longer want this compromise. GLP-1 users and mindset consumers alike eat less, so what they do eat has to work much harder, nutritionally and sensorially. That means being more rigorous about how we measure success of our products: self-reported preference data has some limitations, because what people say in a taste panel and how they actually respond aren't always the same thing. Bringing neuroscience-based methodologies, like the approach Thimus uses, into mainstream product development is helping us validate the eating experience on another level. We hope this gives our customers confidence that both taste and health are possible.

Collaboration is central to progress in food-tech - what types of partnerships or conversations do you see as most important to improve the sector?

Two kinds, and we've leaned on both to get Panvivo GLP1ve to market. The first is deep science partnership: we developed Panvivo GLP1ve in close collaboration with leading universities and research centres, because a functional ingredient built on genuine science needs that grounding from day one. The second is partnership that pair food formulation with expertise the industry doesn't traditionally have in-house. That's exactly what our work with Thimus represents: an ingredients company and a sensory neuroscience company coming together so that a nutritional innovation gets tested with the same objectivity as a clinical one. I'd like to see more of the sector build these kinds of conversations, between formulators, researchers and the technology providers who can independently validate what we're claiming, rather than each part of the value chain working in isolation.

Looking ahead, what developments do you believe will most transform the food system over the next 5–10 years, and what role will your organisation play in that transformation?

I'd point to three things. First, GLP-1 is no longer a future scenario: the oral pill has arrived. The UK approved the first GLP-1 tablet in June 2026, with private access following in July, while it is already available in the US. Removing the injection barrier could see global users triple within three to five years, expanding rapidly across the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East, and China as domestic production drives costs down.

Second, this is not only a GLP-1 story. We are seeing a broader shift in expectations. Gut health is now mainstream, while protein and fibre have become baseline requirements. Consumers increasingly expect everyday foods, not supplements, to deliver functional benefits.

Third, Millbio's role. Panvivo GLP1ve is our answer to the GLP-1 moment, built on decades of expertise across natural shelf-life, sourdough fermentation, enzymes, malt technology, and clean-label ingredients, enabling faster response as needs evolve and shift.

Discover more at Future Food-Tech London this September, where Millbio and Thimus will unveil Bread is Not the Enemy: How Millbio is Changing Bread for the New GLP-1 Consumer. The session will reveal Panvivo GLP1ve and exclusive sensory neuroscience insights into how the next generation of consumers is redefining healthy eating. Register now to secure your place.