Salus Optima: Personalising canteen menus for improved employee health

To address this pressing health crisis, Salus Optima has developed an innovative digital solution to empower individuals to make informed dietary and lifestyle choices. By collaborating with one of the world’s largest catering service provider, to provide a mobile application that integrates personal data from wearables and an adapted workplace menu, Salus Optima is set to significantly impact individual health and wellbeing for one million users by 2029.

The dietary habits of people have changed dramatically over the last few decades. Driven by a shift towards calorie-dense and fatty foods, increased dining out, larger portion sizes and a lower intake of fruit and vegetables, many countries now experience a ‘double burden’ of malnutrition. This scenario sees unhealthy diets contributing not only to excessive weight gain but also to diet-related poor health, where individuals do not consume the necessary nutrients.

The alarming rise in obesity and related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease (the leading cause of death and disability in the European Region) and type 2 diabetes, poses a significant threat to public health. In the EU alone, these conditions account for more than 3.8 million deaths annually. With 3.39 billion adults classified as overweight or obese, there is an imperative need for effective solutions that can reverse these trends and improve health outcomes.

The total cost of adult obesity in the EU has been estimated at €70 billion, with approximately 7% of national budgets across the EU being spent on NCDs associated with obesity every year. For instance, Public Health England estimates that the health and social care costs of cardiovascular disease alone amount to £597 (€713) per patient each year and a recent study has estimated the annual costs of obesity in the EU at a comparable cost of €576 per person per year. These conditions require ongoing medical treatment and management, impacting both productivity and quality of life.

Preventative measures and effective treatments are crucial, with international policies such as the World Health Global Action Plan and the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical activity and Health aiming to address these challenges through dietary guidelines and targets to reduce mortality and morbidity associated with unhealthy diets.

Salus Optima’s solution offers scientifically informed, personalised nutrition, lifestyle coaching and behaviour recommendations through a user-friendly mobile app (iOS/Android). The project, funded by EIT Food, integrates data from wearables and Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) with a leading food service provider's extensive food menu system, with a potential reach in over 30 countries and billions of meals served annually. This innovation is designed to support healthier dietary choices while providing insights into how the food service provider's offerings impact employee health. It enables the personalisation of menus to meet diverse business and employee wellness needs.

In 2022, Salus Optima received an award of €30,000 as part of the first EIT Food Prize Based Challenge on Personalised Nutrition For All with ‘the integration of real-time metabolic, behavioural and lifestyle monitoring into a personalised nutrition service for effective weight-loss and health-gain’. Subsequently, EIT Food expediated the market launch of this innovation via grant funding to Salus Optima together with the food service provider, and the Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Metabolism (CNEM) at the University of Bath for €375,011 with a project timespan of approximately 15 months.

The project involved optimising the data behind the app, consumer testing and subsequent marketing of the released product to encourage a rapid customer base expansion. A product trial was also conducted with over 100 employees from the food service provider which monitored the formation of healthy habits, user satisfaction, meal purchases aligned with recommendations, activity and sleep status, metabolic health responses to food and progress towards weight loss. Salus forecasts deployment in 3 territories with 1,050,000 users by 2029. There is significant potential for the project's impact to grow, however, beyond 2029. Brookdale Consulting has modelled only a 5% increase in annual benefits leading to significant savings on healthcare costs.

By supporting healthier lifestyle choices, employers can potentially reduce absenteeism and lost productivity, especially among employees who are overweight. The app’s tailored, health-focused menu recommendations allow organisations to address these needs directly. Additionally, employers using the app can gather valuable data on their workforce’s metabolic and nutritional needs, enabling them to adjust menu options in their staff canteens for optimal support.

Industry research conducted by the food service provider reported employees facing tighter budgets but greater food requirements, such as reducing salt, sugar, and fat intake, increasing awareness of health benefits, and knowing the sourcing of products. They expressed strong interest in an employer-funded tool that could stretch their budgets further while recommending foods aligned with their health and wellness needs based on lifestyle, finding this approach highly appealing.

Published studies often evaluate the health impact of poor diet in terms of Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) lost and the treatment costs associated with nutrition-related conditions. The indirect effects, such as decreased workforce productivity, are also assessed. Although quantifying the direct impact of dietary changes is complex, some compelling evidence from peer-reviewed trials indicates that dietary improvements can lead to a 65–72% reduction in all-cause mortality, major cardiovascular events, and stroke over a five-year period. Additionally, the QALY gain per person from switching from an American to a Mediterranean-style diet is estimated at 0.4, clearly demonstrating its health benefits.

An independent impact assessment on the potential health cost savings from this system, factoring in estimated annual direct (medical and care) and indirect (absenteeism and productivity) costs per capita for obesity and weight management in the EU, has projected €1.27 billion in health benefits from 2025 to 2042 attributable to EIT Food based on anticipated uptake. Assuming that not all users will experience the app’s full benefits, the assessment estimates that 20% of users will achieve maximum impact, with an additional 20% benefiting at half that level.