What AuB does

AuB Co., Ltd. (AuB株式会社) is a Japanese bio-venture founded on October 15, 2015 by former professional soccer player Keita Suzuki, headquartered in Ginza, Tokyo. The company's scientific foundation is a proprietary athlete gut-microbiome dataset covering more than 1,200 athletes and 2,600+ samples across 40+ sports, which underpins its branded ATHLETE BIO MIX formulation — a blend of approximately 30 strains of bacteria — and its registered "aub gut care method" (菌を摂る・育てる・守る / "take, cultivate, protect bacteria") certified by the Japanese Gut Frailty Conference.

The company monetizes this science through a direct-to-consumer model centered on its aubstore.com e-commerce platform and Amazon Japan, with a recurring subscription supplement line (aub BASE, aub GROW, aub MAKE at ¥8,140-¥9,289/month) plus children's products under aub for kids (kids base powder, freeze-dried miso soup), a diagnostic testing kit (BENTRE) and personalized report service (GUT PARTNER), and a B2B medical channel launched as aub for medical in February 2025. Distribution is omnichannel Japan-only, combining online subscriptions, department store pop-ups at Isetan Shinjuku and Urawa PARCO, and specialty wellness retailers.

Recent product extension has been broad: oral care (ORAL GEL), fatigue-recovery bath agent (SLEEP BATH), a coaching-based constipation program (BENSAPO), additive-free fermented koji seasoning, and Kishu Jabara juice, signaling a deliberate pivot from single-category supplements toward a multi-category gut-health and wellness brand. AuB has raised approximately $10M+ across at least four funding rounds (2017, 2019, June 2022 ¥300M from Kyocera/Taisho/Mitsubishi UFJ Capital/Shizuoka Capital, and May 2024 ~$4.85M Series 3), and continues to operate as a privately held company with 11-50 employees and an active product launch cadence entering its 10th anniversary year.

Name

AuB

Legal name

AuB株式会社

Website

https://aub.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AuB is a Japanese DTC gut-health bio-venture founded in 2015 by ex-soccer player Keita Suzuki, selling microbiome-based supplements, diagnostic kits, and children's and medical products to Japanese consumers via aubstore.com and pop-up retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gut Health Supplements

NAICS

Food (Health) Supplement Retailers (456191)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Functional Baby & Kids Foods Manufacturing (Fortified Infant/Toddler Foods, Kids Nutrition) (AFAKAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Baby Feeding Supplements & Fortifiers (Probiotics, DHA/ARA, Vitamins) (CRADAEAI)

Keywords

• Gut health supplements
• Microbiome analysis
• Probiotic products
• Intestinal bacteria research
• Wellness testing kits

Headquarters

HQ city

Ginza

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Dietary Supplements: Sale of gut health supplements including aub BASE, aub GROW, aub MAKE through e-commerce subscription and one-time purchase models. Subscription model offers regular delivery with pricing discounts.
2. Children's Health Products: Sale of children's gut health products including kids base powder and おなかのためのスープ (freeze-dried miso soup) through aubstore.com and Amazon.
3. Gut Health Testing: BENTRE intestinal bacteria inspection kit and personalized report services for analyzing gut microbiome and providing customized health recommendations.
4. aub for medical: Healthcare sector focused products including intestinal environment supplements and testing kits targeting medical institutions and healthcare providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AuB develops and sells gut health dietary supplements, gut bacteria inspection kits, and personalized analysis services built on research into athlete intestinal microbiomes. Core product lines include the aub series supplements (aub BASE, aub GROW, aub MAKE), children-focused products under aub for kids, the BENTRE gut bacteria inspection kit and GUT PARTNER personalized reporting service, and a medical-oriented aub for medical line supplying gut environment supplements and testing kits to healthcare institutions.

Product overview

AuB is a gut health company that evolved from athlete gut bacteria research, operating as a comprehensive 'gut care' platform with multiple product lines and brands. The core portfolio includes dietary supplements (aub BASE, aub GROW, aub MAKE) based on research from over 1,200 top athletes and 2,600+ gut bacteria samples. The company offers diagnostic products (BENTRE gut bacteria testing kit, GUT PARTNER analysis service) and specialized sub-brands including aub for medical (healthcare institutions), aub for kids (children's products including kids base powder and freeze-dried miso soup), and various food/beverage products (ORAL GEL, SLEEP BATH, fermented koji, citrus juice). The products follow the 'aub gut care method' approach of 'taking bacteria, cultivating bacteria, and protecting bacteria' (菌を摂る・育てる・守る).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• aub for medical: Medical institution-targeted brand offering scientifically-proven and domestically-produced gut environment supplements and testing kits for optimized health support.
• aub for kids
• aub store

Products and services

• aub BASE A dietary supplement containing approximately 30 types of diverse bacteria including lactic acid bacteria and Bifidobacterium, based on athlete gut bacteria research. Designed to support gut flora and overall conditioning for adult health-conscious consumers.
• aub GROW A dietary supplement focused on dietary fiber and prebiotics to cultivate and nourish gut bacteria as part of the aub gut care method approach. Designed for health-conscious consumers seeking daily gut conditioning support.
• aub MAKE A dietary supplement product in the aub line formulated for daily conditioning support, completing the take-cultivate-protect framework of the aub gut care method.
• kids base An odorless, tasteless powder supplement for children aged 2-6 years containing approximately 30 types of diverse bacteria including butyric acid bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and human-derived Bifidobacterium, designed to support healthy gut flora development.
• おなかのためのスープ (Onaka no Tame no Soup) Freeze-dried miso soup for children containing 15 types of vitamins and minerals, 2 types of dietary fiber, and approximately 22 types of bacteria (about 3 billion CFU) including 17 lactic acid bacteria and 5 Bifidobacterium species, available in seaweed, mushroom, and root vegetable varieties.
• BENTRE A gut bacteria inspection kit that analyzes gut environment and diet using AuB's proprietary gut bacteria inspection and diet analysis logic, providing personalized reports with optimized advice for health-conscious consumers.
• GUT PARTNER A gut bacteria inspection and diet analysis service that creates customized reports analyzing gut environment and meals, providing optimal personalized advice using AuB's developed inspection and analysis logic.
• aub for medical A medical institution-oriented brand providing gut environment supplements and testing kits based on scientific evidence and domestic quality, offering optimized health support individualized to patients.
• ORAL GEL An oral care product developed by gut bacteria experts focusing on oral-intestinal correlation, extending AuB's gut care approach to oral health.
• BENSAPO (ベンサポ) A constipation improvement support program providing one-month personalized coaching by an excrement expert to address gut and bowel issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93.7% of working mothers report work disruption due to children's health issues
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 株式会社アンダースタンド (AnyMaMa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 July 2025AnyMaMa operates a support platform for women's career return and development. AuB collaborates with AnyMaMa on wellness programs targeting working mothers, conducting surveys and hosting joint events like online seminars on gut health and parenting wellness.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Seed Health: Microbiome-focused consumer health company developing probiotic and microbial therapeutics. Closely comparable to AuB in scientific positioning, DTC supplements, and gut-microbiome data platform approach, though U.S.-based and broader in scope.
• Viome Life Sciences: Gut-microbiome testing and personalized nutrition company. Directly comparable to AuB's BENTRE gut-bacteria inspection and GUT PARTNER personalized report service on the diagnostic-and-recommendation business model.
• Pendulum Therapeutics: Microbiome-based probiotic company selling clinically formulated products for metabolic health. Comparable to AuB in microbiome-science positioning, DTC subscription model, and emphasis on patented bacterial strains.
• AG1 (Athletic Greens): Premium daily nutritional supplement brand positioned for performance and wellness, sold via DTC subscription. Comparable to AuB on athlete/performance positioning, subscription pricing, and content-driven DTC acquisition.
• Care/of: Personalized daily vitamin and supplement company sold via DTC subscription with diagnostic-driven personalization. Comparable to AuB on gut-health-adjacent positioning, personalization via testing, and subscription ecommerce model.

Broad incumbents

• Yakult Honsha: Japan's dominant probiotics company with iconic Yakult brand and decades of clinical research. Comparable as a Japanese gut-health CPG incumbent with vastly larger distribution and brand awareness, but serving general consumers rather than athlete niche.
• Meiji Holdings: Major Japanese dairy and probiotic producer (Meiji Probio, Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt). Overlaps with AuB on gut-health positioning and Japanese retail distribution; serves broader functional-food and dairy categories rather than supplements or athlete niche.
• BioGaia: Swedish probiotics specialist with clinically documented Lactobacillus reuteri strains sold globally as supplements and pediatric drops. Comparable probiotic science, clinical-evidence emphasis, and pediatric line overlap with AuB's kids base product.
• Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare: OTC pharmaceutical subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo selling supplements and consumer health products in Japan. Comparable as a major Japanese supplement manufacturer with established retail distribution that AuB competes against for shelf and consumer mindshare.
• Morinaga Milk Industry: Japanese dairy major with significant bifidobacteria and probiotic research, including B. longum BB536. Comparable to AuB on gut-bacteria science, Japanese consumer market, and supplements/dairy product lines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWcfNaOvJ-UtZvWMTqDaNjw
• Facebookfacebook.com/athlete.microbiome.bank
• Instagraminstagram.com/aubinc_official
• Xx.com/AuBinc_official
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aub-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AuB