By Naya Seth
Photos by Sondra Barr
Did you know that your gut health can have a big impact on your overall well-being? Plexus Worldwide is a company that creates supplements for all ages to support a healthy gut. I had the pleasure of visiting the Plexus headquarters in Scottsdale, where I met Dr. Michael Hartman, Vice President of Research and Development, and Isabelle Teissier, Senior Product Development Specialist, to learn more about how gut health affects the body.
Plexus Worldwide creates a variety of products with one key goal: to support gut health. Everything we eat ultimately makes its way to the gut, and the gut microbiome plays a big role—not just in digestion, but also in brain function, skin health, and energy levels. It is directly linked to the immune system, with some studies showing that certain probiotics can help reduce the risk of infections.
One way to support gut health is through probiotics. Probiotics are a type of bacteria—except these are the good kind! The goal of taking Plexus products is to increase the good bacteria in your gut and reduce the amount of harmful bacteria.
But Plexus doesn’t just focus on gut health. They also make products to help people get essential vitamins. Their multivitamin is actually one of their best-selling products. Different vitamins help the body in different ways—for example, vitamin B supports energy production, vitamin C strengthens the immune system, and vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. In addition to multivitamins and probiotics, Plexus offers tablets, powders, and drink mixes designed to help with stress, exercise, and sleep.
While it’s best to get vitamins from food and sunlight, it’s not always easy to get the right amount every day. Supplements can help fill in the gaps by providing exact doses of essential nutrients. However, Dr. Hartman emphasizes that supplements should never replace a healthy diet. “Supplements, not substitutes,” he says.
How Are Supplements Made?
Developing a new product starts with the marketing team. They analyze what customers are buying and gather feedback from brand ambassadors to find out what people want. If a particular type of product is in high demand, Plexus finds ways to make it unique. For example, their XFactor Kids supplement is a multivitamin with added probiotics to support gut health.
Another thing that sets Plexus apart is their use of all-natural ingredients, even for coloring their products. Instead of artificial dyes, they use turmeric for yellow and purple carrots for violet.
To make supplements easy to use, Plexus creates chewable tablets and powders that dissolve in water. They also focus on taste—before launching a product, they invite testers to try it and provide honest feedback. This process helps scientists fine-tune the flavors.
Much of product development involves trial and error. Scientists test different ingredient amounts to create the perfect balance. If one formula doesn’t work, they tweak it by adjusting the ingredients until they get it just right. This process is part of food science, a field that studies how food is made, flavored, and consumed. While most schools don’t teach food science, there are universities dedicated to this field, where students learn about everything from consumer preferences to experimenting with new flavors.
Plexus Worldwide was founded 16 years ago by someone with a background in nutrition and health. Their products can be purchased at plexusworldwide.com.
