In the first question, we asked the subjects about their dietary habits. We used a five-point Richter scale in order to count and quantify. The results shown above, indicate that 58.45% of people consider their eating habits to be in the less healthy category and 34.47% consider their diet to be very unhealthy. And only 2.05%, 3.65%, and 1.37% of people consider their diets sometimes healthy, healthy, and very healthy, respectively. This overwhelming difference in the data also indicates that people are not eating healthy today, which means that the potential user base for our product is large.

Firstly, we are curious about how probiotics could work in living organisms. Lilian told us if it is to lose weight, increasing blood glutathione can improve liver mitochondrial function and reduce fatty liver. There are a lot of obese people who have a lot of health problems because their insulin is resistant and they can't use the sugar in their body.

Secondly, we have questions about whether the engineered probiotic freeze-dried powder is a food or a dietary supplement since initially, we decided on the form of our final product as enzyme powders. The lyophilized powder is a presentation technique that evaporates water through low temperatures, so it won’t affect its nature and is well preserved. However, it is difficult to classify freeze-dried powder as a food or dietary supplement type of health product. After market research, it is found that the sales volume of lyophilized powder in similar products is the highest compared with oral liquid and lyophilized powder is more convenient in production and packaging. Even though the powder will stay the way until you eat it, once it gets into the gut, we must protect it from digestion loss.
Probiotic food itself is an industry standard, so it might get a quicker pass. Health care products shall be written with efficacy with a very long application process and very high requirements for the factory, so the feasibility of food could be considered.

Finally, we also consulted Lilian on the current nutritional market development, and we need some information to determine our product advantages. Lilian pointed out that the challenges faced by fat-reducing products are similar to those of probiotics currently on the market which is that there are other options to solve the same problem. But probiotics have unique advantages over other fat-reducing products. Our market is large, and there are not many alternatives to probiotics currently, but our products still need to be better targeted.

Although we have read the relevant literature, we are still looking forward to some specific advice from nutritionists, especially Benefits of engineered probiotics to the human body. According to her sharing, an American synthetic company uses engineered bacteria to treat phenylketonuria. In order to maximize the effect of probiotics, the dosage and period of engineered bacteria in the product must be accurately calculated.
Based on our initial proposal on losing weight through lipase, Lilian pointed out that lipase itself is a substance that our body can secrete by itself, and it is closely related to the function of our pancreatic organs. She reminded us that we have to personalize it for different people's physiques by applying lipase. In addition, Lilian added that the benefits of probiotics are usually aimed at metabolism, which must be combined with physical exercise of the appropriate intensity.

Of course, we also consulted on the harms of probiotics. She mentioned that the most commonly used probiotics are fecal transplants which are derived from bacteria found in the human body. So if it's the same extract and the source is similar to your ethnicity, the chances of developing sensitivity are very low. But if you are looking for bacteria that is very far away, it can cause sensitivity in the gut and can upset the balance of our gut.

No doubt that there were so much valuable information and practical advice during our communication with Lilian. After this interview, we had a brainstorm team meeting to review our product features and modify our product positioning.

On the evening of August 8th, we interviewed Mr. Andong Zhang (Anthony), who is mainly responsible for medical industry project review, including API, pharmaceutical intermediate manufacturing, and medical device manufacturing. Mr. Zhang Andong is the senior risk control manager of COSCO SHIPPING and the head of COSCO SHIPPING's health industry. He provided us with a lot of useful insights on gut engineering, and health and further inspired the future direction of our project.

Firstly, Mr. Zhang introduced the Strengths and weaknesses of China's probiotic industry compared with the world. We have obvious advantages in raw materials and labor. But at the same time, the probiotics industry also has some underdeveloped aspects. There are many similar probiotic products in the market especially on improving the health of the intestinal tract, but the supplying channels and domestic distribution channels of this probiotic are still relatively chaotic. And the Chinese people's acceptance of probiotic products is lacking due to inadequate relevant knowledge. That made us think of public education in which we could focus on the popular science of probiotics.

Secondly, as a fledgling business, allocating disposable funds is one of the most important strategies. Anthony suggested the initial investment in product development is to help the company quickly build product power. After having the product power, you need to take the next step of marketing and promotion to occupy the market more. As for the R&D investment in the product, the company may need some experts to join the working capital action. Because the preliminary research and development costs are required a lot of money, working capital needs to be properly preserved. As for the specific amount of funds to be retained, it depends on the size of the staff input.

Thirdly, Anthony also combined the characteristics of the Chinese market to help us determine the focus of product promotion. He believes in using localization strategies to localize products. On the basis of market research, combined with the popular concepts of the current era, such as "the Great Health" and "health care", it attracts the attention of target customers and cultivates user habits. Faced with the emerging probiotic product industry, Anthony suggested that we should seek a balance between product effects and prices to meet market challenges.

Finally, the global epidemic of the new crown epidemic is an objective situation before us. In response to the epidemic, Anthony believed that we should also choose appropriate marketing strategies to reduce risks. On the one hand, it controls the expansion and chaining of offline stores, and mainly operates online stores. On the other hand, offline activities are held irregularly, especially in the form of experiential flagship stores in large and medium cities. This approach can save operating costs and improve marketing efficiency. At the same time, he also reminded us to pay attention to the relevant requirements of the state for the food industry and the health care product industry, including food production licenses and production plant environment guarantees.

The development of whole gene science, including the development of this single-cell sequencing, can provide some methodologies to support the development of a new generation of probiotics with specific functions in the future through culture genomics and synthetic biology. For example, probiotics may become a more medicinal value in the future, with the development and understanding of this probiotic deeper and deeper, it will be more and more application scenarios, and then the functionality will be more and more powerful.

After talking with Anthony, not only did we obtain a clearer view of the market but also settle down many details in our business plan. In addition, we had more thoughts on conducting our education campaign which is also related to the product promotion.

Prof. Han believed it is a good idea to put the engineered bacteria in the gut in order for increasing the digestion efficiency of the food. While he also mentioned several challenges that our research project would face. The challenge comes from the lipase itself, which has an important role in the whole fat digestive system. It's a complex system, and many factors regulate it during the process of absorption, utilization, breakdown, and storage of fat. Therefore, he mentioned that our products must be able to ensure that people with different constitutions can have similar effects, at least positive and safe.

Finally, Prof. Han also pointed out some advantages and disadvantages of the current industrial enzyme catalysis and transformation industry and research. It may be suitable for production in large quantities because there is no catalytic conversion required, which is a much greener, gentler process. What’s more, he believed that it has a bright future by replacing industrial coal or other traditional energy to promote a green transition in this development. But he also reminded us that the government still has many policies which might cause some potential limitations, which requires us to straighten them out before considering the further development plan or even stepping into the market.

In the early, middle, and late stages of the project, we regularly conduct brainstorming and retrospective reflection. This is very helpful for team building, creating a transparent and trusting communication atmosphere, thereby enhancing the tacit understanding of team members.

For example, on key issues such as deciding the type of final product, our team made the decision through several team meetings. Not only did we have a brainstorming discussion offline but we also conducted online meetings at night to sync the update with the wet lab.

As we followed in the above scenarios, our approach is equal communication and brainstorming. Every brainstorming session has a light-hearted discussion atmosphere that encourages everyone to express their opinions, even the whimsical ones. In order to better achieve the effect of brainstorming, everyone first writes down their thoughts on a post-it note for a limited time. This can force others to provide their own ideas without pressure. Then each member takes turns explaining the reasons for their views, and the same can be combined and summarized. Then, we take into account conditions such as time, cost, feasibility, etc., and choose the best idea.

Through this efficient brainstorming activity, we realize that sometimes the real answer doesn't matter. The calculation process behind these ideas can sometimes bring us unexpected surprises.