In light of the current pandemic, Sharp believes the need for immune-supporting staples that are accessible to all has never been greater. “Covid has been a wake-up call that immunity against disease, through what we eat, is critical,” she says. “Good diet is as necessary to good health as good hospitals.”

The company forged a partnership with M&S in 2022 following media coverage of the beta-version of Superloaf. Spector maintains that the wider the variety of plant fibre you eat, the healthier and “more diverse” the bacteria in your gut will be. He suggests eating 30 different types of fruit and vegetables per week, including nuts, seeds and herbs. It was created in partnership with the likes of the Oxford Brookes Centre for Nutrition & Health and food technology company Camden BRI. “Dozens of other businesses and disciplines have been involved in the birth of Superloaf – from academia to government, scientists and the life sciences, business and investment communities, and an increasing input from the creative industries,” he adds. Category winners were then pitted against each other as the judges decided on the entry to be named Britain’s Best Loaf (see the full list of category winners below).We are, however, careful to ensure that our passion doesn’t get the better of us when explaining why we think that sourdough bread is so great.”​ The bread cost “many millions of pounds” to create, with funding from five Innovate UK grants and private investors. It was developed in partnership with several scientific organisations, including Newcastle University’s Biosciences Institute, food technology giant Camden BRI and the Oxford Brookes Centre for Nutrition & Health. “No one single company can do this on its own,” said Campbell. “You need an ecosystem of partners.” Superloaf is launching a new mass-production version of its gut healthy bread – for sale exclusively through Marks & Spencer. We already know what version 6.0 and version 7.0 will look like. There is a lot of momentum around evolving the concept now we have our first mass market Superloaf up and running,” he said. “We are looking at other routes to market for our nutritionally dense solution and that includes foodservice and in-store bakery as well as other branded options.” Also known as linseed, this has been shown to regulate blood sugar, which is closely linked to immunity. Its readily fermentable qualities are appreciated by our gut microbes.

In March of this year, Modern Baker partnered with Hovis and Marks & Spencer to unveil a mass produced version, Superloaf 5.0, which has recently been named a finalist of the New Bakery Product of the Year category for the upcoming Baking Industry Awards 2023. The benefits reported by a study carried out using a starter of a particular flour at X hydration, containing lactic acid bacterium Y and yeast Z, fermented for A minutes at B degrees might not necessarily apply to other sourdough starter cultures. Many scientific studies are carried out on animals or in vitro (test tubes, petri dishes, etc), so the benefits for human beings may differ.​ SUPERLOAF reengineers carb-based Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) using bio-active plant-based compounds and targeted fermentation. The funding has been earmarked to support the application of this unique method in the formulation of other UPFs such as breakfast cereals, pasta, ready meals, yoghurts and pastries. The result is a loaf that tastes and toasts exactly as you'd expect, with added hidden superpowers.

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The new bread has an artisanal look but is designed to be an everyday option. Modern Baker had “worked out processes so that we can have the best of everything” Campbell said. Plus, it was “delicious” he added. “If it wasn’t, we’d be dead in the water.”