Human lactoferrin from Helaina, explained by its team on Beyond the Blend, plus 3 product concepts for women's iron, athlete recovery, and longevity.
On this episode of Beyond the Blend, I sat down with McClaine Haines, Business Development Manager at Helaina, and Cassie Evans, a registered dietitian with a doctorate in human and sport performance who handles commercial science for the company. Helaina makes effera, a human lactoferrin produced through precision fermentation.
I've been watching this technology for a couple of years. This year it feels like the concepts are materializing, and brands are starting to know the name.
Women's health is still an underserved area of the market, and a lot of Helaina's studies focus on it. Below is what we covered, plus 3 concepts our Research and Development (R&D) team built in collaboration with Helaina.
Helaina started with infant formula in mind. McClaine explained the problem with milk bioactives: there's only so much cow supply. When colostrum took off about 3 years ago, brands had a tough time getting it a year later.
His pitch for fermentation is supply without that ceiling, and batches that match from one Certificate of Analysis (COA) to the next. It's the same process that moved insulin off pig and cow pancreas to a human version.
While Helaina works through infant formula, sports nutrition, gut health, and women's health brands picked effera up first.
People see "human colostrum" and stop scrolling. Then they ask how Helaina collects it. They don't. It's made by yeast.
Lactoferrin is an iron-binding protein. Cow colostrum is heavy on immunoglobulin G (IgG). Human colostrum carries far more lactoferrin, the protein an infant leans on to build its gut and immune system.
Cassie calls the way it works in the body the "core four":
McClaine calls it a taxi driver for iron.
I always think it's funny. If you're going to go through the trouble of precision fermentation, why would you make the cow version? Why not make the human one?
Cow and human lactoferrin share a name but are built differently, and effera matches the human version.
In a randomized, double-blind trial of 66 healthy adults, the group taking cow lactoferrin roughly tripled their antibodies against it by day 56. The groups taking effera at a low or high dose showed no change in antibodies against human lactoferrin. Helaina funded the study and its employees co-authored it.
Cassie also published a case report on 2 active women with a long history of low iron. One had already tried iron infusions. She took 100 mg of effera a day for 20 weeks, and her ferritin went from 11 to 57 ng/mL. The other took 100 mg inside a multi-ingredient product for 6 weeks. Her ferritin went from 22 to 34 ng/mL, and her C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammation marker, came down.
3 of the 4 authors work at Helaina, and they call it a preliminary signal that needs controlled trials. Cow lactoferrin works too. It has plenty of research behind it.
From 2020 to maybe 2023, Amazon shoppers bought whatever had the most. This one has more milligrams, so it must be the better product.
More is not always better. It's the right form, the right dose, and the right combination of things. That was a hard story to pitch 5 years ago. I feel like consumers are ready for it now.
Science tells, stories sell.
McClaine's story: this is the foundational protein that helps a baby build its gut and immune system, and now adults can take the human form.
It's amazing to see how God designed us, and how much was in breast milk we didn't appreciate until the last decade.
If we were launching an effera product today, these are the 3 we'd build.
The white space is bioavailable iron inside a multivitamin women already take. Per the World Health Organization, anemia affects 30% of non-pregnant women aged 15 to 49 and 37% of pregnant women.
That's anemia, which is narrower than low iron. Cassie thinks low iron is more common still. The standard ferritin cutoff is set low, so women get told they're "in range" and still don't feel right.
Their tests may show one thing. Their body may need more regulation, not more iron.
It still feels early, but women are rethinking how they get iron from their multivitamins. In a couple of years I think we'll look back and see this was the start.
The formula would pair effera with a bioavailable form of iron. The recommended daily iron intake for women 19 to 50 is 18 mg, and a lot of iron supplements go well past that.
Stacy Sims' line fits this one perfectly: women are not small men. Look back over the last 20 years and that's exactly how the industry treated them. Smaller doses for a lighter body weight.
Fluid and iron levels both shift through a woman's cycle. This concept pairs effera with hydration and tart cherry for the recovery side.
Hydration is already a habit for a lot of women. No pills to swallow.
My take: On the episode I called this one of my favorites, along with the longevity sachet. Endurance athletes test, and they know what works far better than the everyday person. It's a measurement-based sport. Pair that with the research Helaina is doing and it's a prime opportunity. It's still very early.
Look at our production lines today and I'd say at least half of them are running longevity concepts. We're always a lagging indicator. Whatever we're producing today is what the market wants.
This one pairs effera with liposomal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in a liquid sachet.
Cassie's case for it: the immune system weakens and the gut microbiome changes as we age, and lactoferrin supports both.
One big thing I look for is trend surface area. Lactoferrin may not have the following yet, but NAD+ boosting ingredients are on the rise.
People want one product, not more products. Pill fatigue is real. Helaina's team says people will pay for a sachet they take every morning if it tastes good.
Even if you had a better formula, the one someone's going to use consistently is the one they'll see the most benefit from. Pick the format your customer will take every day. For a lot of brands right now, that's a liquid.
If you want to build one of these, or you've got your own human lactoferrin idea, book a discovery call. We'll walk through your formula and format, send samples, and give you a no-pressure roadmap from a team that's been there.
Ben Steuart, CEO & Owner, Steuart Nutrition
Ben Steuart is the co-founder and CEO of Steuart Nutrition, a contract manufacturing and supplement innovation partner for powder, liquid, and stick‑pack supplements. He launched the company in 2019 alongside his wife, Sarah, building on his lifelong roots in the food production industry, where he grew up working in his father's food-manufacturing business in Mabel, Minnesota.
Throughout his career, Ben has developed deep expertise in supplement manufacturing and business operations. At Steuart, he leads with a commitment to lean operations, fostering long-term partnerships, and delivering flexible, transparent service, prioritizing the client's vision as much as his own. His leadership guided the business's rapid expansion from a single facility to multiple locations, enabling agile responses to market needs, from producing hand sanitizer during the COVID‑19 pandemic to scaling CBD and nutrition supplement lines.
Ben's approach is rooted in strong values. His faith as a born‑again Christian deeply informs the company's mission of "glorifying God and establishing a transformational workplace". This culture of integrity and continuous improvement fosters a trusting, mission-driven environment, distinguishing Steuart as both a capable and conscientious industry leader.
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