science from sales and the microbiome

Science from sales and the microbiome

Leveraging the direct-to-consumer model to obtain actionable data

Justin Shmalberg | DVM DACVN DACVSMR CVA CVFT CVCHRyan W. Honaker | just PhD

Outline

1. NomNomNowOverview

2. Data collectionSign-up flow and health assessment

3. MicrobiomeCollection, studies, data

● Fresh made-to-order direct-to-consumer pet food

○ Weekly cooks in wholly-owned production facilities

○ Human restaurant and bulk foods suppliers

○ Innovative software engineering

● Customer base

○ Engaged

○ Demand Transparency

○ Seeking Customization

● Customization critical to expanding

reach to pet health from pet food

○ Product validation

○ Clinical research

Foundation for customization and studies

● Dedicated internal software engineering team

● Scientific team○ Veterinary nutritionist

○ Microbiologist

○ Bioinformaticist

○ Nutrition researcher

○ Advisory team

● Products guided by nutrition, data, and science to meet consumer needs

Customization: Calorie Use Case● Default calorie guidance unreliable

○ Breed variation

○ Activity variation

○ Life stage

● Pet parents unreliable

○ Confusion over feeding charts

○ Measure volumes incorrectly

○ Obesity!

Solution = Custom portioning

● Custom portions = custom algorithm = data driven

○ Age (life stage), activity, breed, gender, current weight, ideal

weight

○ Collection of useful data

What can more and better data achieve?● Optimize product success

○ Prevent incorrect use cases

■ Difficult in retail environment without human

support

○ Predictive factors for better outcome on certain diets

■ Body weight and fiber

■ Skin and coat and fatty acids

● Nutritional validation

○ Blood values?

■ Unlikely to change

○ Skin and coat?

■ May not be predictive of underlying health

○ Microbiome

■ Can this explain differential responses and possible benefits from diet?

Sign up flow and initial data collection

Health assessments● Metadata for microbiome initiative

● 115 questions - 5 categories

● Species specific

● Results stored in SQL database

○ Results are cleaned with with Python

scripts

○ Easily queryable for analysis

Health assessments● Completion rate:

○ Overall: ⅔ none, 15% all

○ MB: ⅓ none, ¼ all

● Exploring ways to increase

○ Just ask: 12% complete additional

○ Offer incentives

○ Provide insights from results

Medical

conditions Supplements

Utilization of health assessment results - product insights

● Provide customer and product insights○ Largest medical issue complaint is allergies (19%)○ 23% of customers are using probiotics

Utilization of health assessment results - product insights

Medical conditions

Supplements

● Generate content● Develop products

Utilization of health assessment results - customer facing

Medical

conditionsSupplements

Utilization of health assessment results - customer facing

● Deliver personalized information based on responses○ Provide customer with value and purpose for taking surveys○ Cross selling products

● Identify needs and interests, e.g. GI issues and probiotics● Provide personalized: interesting data visualizations, content,

product recommendations

Microbiome Profiling - NomNomNow: INSIGHTS

● Consumer product:○ Kit○ Health assessment○ Microbiome report

NomNomNow: INSIGHTS report

A B C

D

A. Your dogB. All dogsC. All healthy dogsD. All 18 year-old 3-legged

neutered male shih tzus with IBS who chase their tails and eat sauerkraut

● Comparisons to various cohorts○ Composition○ Diversity○ Common health concerns

Benefits to customer:

● Comparison of their pet’s GI health

● Monitoring of MB over time

● Relationship to underlying conditions

● Citizen science and engagement

● Pet health customization - products

● As the science advances the results mean more and become increasingly actionable

NomNomNow: INSIGHTS

Benefits to us

● A rich source of data○ Scientific publication

● Funnel into food subscription

● Cross-selling products with impact

● Novel consumer engagement

● Product developments○ New diets, pro/pre/syn -biotics,

diagnostic markers

● Development of pet health brand

NomNomNow: INSIGHTS

Leveraging survey data for scientific study

1. Develop a testable hypothesis and define cohort

a. Retrospective/passive: The microbiome of dogs >30 kg differs from

that of dogs <10 kg

b. Prospective/targeted: Fresh diets alter the composition of the

microbiome

c. Discovery: machine-learning predictions for novel associations

Survey response: interested in studies


2. Define cohort:


3. Query database

4. Reach out to customers

○ Personalized emails (customer/pet

name)

○ Custom copy relevant to study

○ Incentivize (free sequencing, discounted

food/treats, etc.)


Recruitment success rate: ⅓ of cats, ½ of dogs

Survey data insights - interesting and engaging (customers)

Model AIC = 1044.2

Adjusted R squared = .21

p(age) = 2e-16***

p(size) = 2e-16***

p(periodontal) = 0.01*

~60%

~40%

~60%

~30%

Survey data insights - science, product development

Increased resolution improves results

Shotgunmeta-

genomics

individual pets

ind

ivid

ual

tax

a

imore blue = more bugs

Discovery - what factors are driving clustering?

Dogs

Clusters 1-2

Cluster 3

Green = high amount

Red = low amount

Black = absent

individual pets

ind

ivid

ual

tax

a

● ...

CST3CST 1 CST2

Reduced abundance of certain taxa with allergies

Goals and milestones - short term

● Scientific validation of claims and of efficacy

○ Education and outreach mission

○ Advance the science of fresh

● Report updates based on novel observations and areas

of customer interest

Goals and milestones - short term

● Identify and target unmet consumer needs: targets

for studies and product development

○ Therapeutic diets

○ Diagnostic markers

○ Therapeutic interventions

■ Pro/pro/synbiotic

■ Functional genes / products (postbiotics)

○ Intellectual property generation

● Building pet health and science brand

Goals and milestones - longer term

● Contribute valuable scientific information

○ How does the MB impact health and disease?

○ Role of nutrition and the MB

○ Human and animal translational research?

Goals and milestones - longer term

● Develop products for unmet consumer needs:

○ Therapeutic diets

○ Diagnostic markers

○ Therapeutic interventions

■ Pro/pro/synbiotic

■ Functional genes / products (postbiotics)

○ Personalized nutrition / supplements -

the ultimate in customization

Lessons learned● Direct to consumer sales platform invaluable in truly knowing your customer

● Pet owners readily provide detailed pet information in a user-friendly interface --

At least ⅓ of engaged customers interested in scientific studies

● New methods of assessing nutritional performance are needed --

The microbiome knowledge of pet dogs and cats remains in its infancy

● Big data and meaningful science doesn’t have to mean big budgets

● Producers of pet products have a responsibility to help advance the science

○ Especially when validating new product forms or marketing claims

Acknowledgements

R&D CX Ops, marketing

Aashish Jha Melanie De Anda Trevor Hargreaves

Dan Massey Jessica Siasoco Ryan Bauer

LeeAnn Perry

Jirayu “Boo Boo” Tanprasertsuk

[email protected] [email protected]

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