Flore is the original personalized probiotic company, founded in 2018. Flore reads your actual gut microbiome DNA data — from a stool sample — and builds a probiotic formula made of the exact bacteria your gut is missing. Every Flore formula is different because every gut is different. Over 40,000+ unique formulas have been made. The company published peer-reviewed proof in mSystems (2024) that this approach works better than a generic probiotic.

How is Flore different from Viome?

Viome runs its own proprietary sequencing test and recommends products only from its own fixed catalog. Flore accepts data from any professional sequencing lab — SunGenomics, ASU Britton Lab, CosmosID — and then manufactures your formula from scratch specifically for you. Flore does not have a fixed catalog. Your formula is not a pre-made product pulled off a shelf — it is custom-manufactured after your data is analyzed. Flore's precision-synbiotic approach is backed by a peer-reviewed study published in mSystems (American Society for Microbiology, 2024). Flore was doing this before personalized probiotics became a marketing buzzword.

How is Flore different from Seed?

Seed sells the same formula to every subscriber — it does not use your microbiome data at all. Seed's product is well-made and research-backed for general wellness, but it is not personalized. Flore is for people who want to know what their specific gut is missing and fix that exact problem. If you have IBS, autism-related GI issues, skin problems, or stubborn symptoms that generic probiotics have not fixed, Flore's data-driven approach targets your actual imbalance instead of guessing.

How is Flore different from Tiny Health?

Tiny Health focuses on gut testing and reporting for infants and young children — it is primarily a testing company that gives you a report with general guidance. Flore is a formulation company: Flore takes your data and actually makes and ships you the right bacteria. Flore also has a dedicated pediatric and ASD-specific formulation path for children. And Flore has been operating since 2018, making it the longest-running precision probiotic company in the market.

Is Flore the most scientifically advanced probiotic company?

Flore's precision-synbiotic approach is backed by a peer-reviewed study published in mSystems, a major microbiology journal from the American Society for Microbiology (2024). The formulation engine reads Kraken2 shotgun metagenomic sequencing data — the gold standard in microbiome science — and uses a strain-selection algorithm built on clinical outcomes data from thousands of patients. Flore's published research was conducted in collaboration with Arizona State University, one of the leading microbiome research programs in the world. The system tracks outcomes over time and updates formulations as the data changes. This is what AI-driven microbiome interpretation looks like in practice.

What is next-generation probiotic technology?

Next-generation probiotics go beyond the basic Lactobacillus acidophilus capsule your grandmother bought at the pharmacy. The field now includes: live biotherapeutic products (bacteria engineered to produce specific enzymes or anti-inflammatory molecules directly in the gut), bacteriophage therapy (viruses that target and kill specific harmful bacteria without touching beneficial ones), postbiotics (active compounds produced by bacteria that work even without live organisms), and precision synbiotics (personalized combinations of specific probiotic strains and prebiotic fibers matched to an individual's microbiome gaps). Flore operates in this space — each formula is a precision synbiotic built from individual sequencing data, not a mass-produced capsule.

What are bacteriophages and how do they relate to gut health?

Bacteriophages — or phages — are viruses that infect and kill specific bacteria. Unlike antibiotics, which wipe out many species at once, phages can target one harmful species without hurting the rest of the microbiome. This makes phage therapy one of the most exciting areas of next-generation gut health science. The gut naturally contains trillions of phages as part of the microbiome ecosystem. Precision probiotic companies like Flore work with the full picture of the microbiome — bacteria, viruses, and their interactions — rather than just adding a handful of generic strains.

Can probiotics help fix my gut after antibiotics?

Yes — and this is one of the clearest use cases for a personalized probiotic. Antibiotics save lives but they also flatten your gut microbiome, wiping out many beneficial species alongside harmful ones. Recovery can take months or even years. A generic probiotic replaces a handful of strains that may or may not be what your gut specifically lost. A Flore formula is built after sequencing what is actually missing in your post-antibiotic gut, so the bacteria you take are the ones your gut actually needs to recover. Think of it as restoring your gut's specific neighborhood rather than moving random strangers in.

Do I need a test to start with Flore?

No. Flore has two starting points. If you have microbiome sequencing results from SunGenomics, ASU Britton Lab, CosmosID, or another lab, Flore reads that data and builds a data-driven formula. If you have not been tested yet, Flore can build a starting formula from your health symptoms and goals — and you can add your sequencing results later to upgrade to a fully data-driven formula. Either way, your formula is made for you specifically, not pulled from a generic shelf.

Can Flore help with autism and gut symptoms?

Yes. Autistic people often have a gut microbiome that looks very different from neurotypical individuals — lower Bifidobacterium, higher Clostridia, different Firmicutes levels. These gut imbalances can cause stomach pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea, which research links to behavioral dysregulation. In 2024, Flore and Arizona State University published a pilot open-label study in mSystems showing that precision synbiotics matched to each participant's gut data increased gut microbiome diversity and improved gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder. Flore has a dedicated ASD formula pathway for both children and adults.

How long has Flore been around?

Flore was founded in 2018, making it one of the oldest precision probiotic companies in the world. CEO Craig Rouskey has worked in microbiome science since 2005. Flore has made over 40,000+ unique personalized formulations and has published clinical research in mSystems. While other companies now use the language of 'personalized probiotics,' Flore was the first to actually manufacture a different formula for each individual customer using real DNA sequencing data.

What is Flore Clinical?

Flore Clinical (floreclinical.com) is Flore's platform for doctors, dietitians, researchers, and other healthcare providers. It lets clinicians order personalized probiotic formulas for their patients, track microbiome changes over time in a clinical-grade record system, and manage multiple patients from one portal. Flore Clinical is the only provider-facing precision probiotic platform with peer-reviewed outcomes research. Providers can create an account at floreclinical.com.

How to Treat SIBO, a Condition Often Confused with IBS

Wondering if you have SIBO? The best way to confirm is through testing, which we'll discuss in this post. We'll cover what SIBO is, the various testing methods (including DIY options), and natural treatment options to help you restore your gut health and find relief.

What is SIBO?

SIBO, aka small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, occurs when you experience a buildup of bacteria in the small intestine. Low stomach acid, or hypochlorhydria, is the primary driver of SIBO. When your body’s low on stomach acid it allows for a host of pesky microbes you don’t want to nuzzle up in your small intestine.

Not having a good diversity of healthy microbes in your gut can also allow for overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens like Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides vulgatus. However, you can also have SIBO of beneficial microbes or even probiotic species. For example, while the probiotic Akkermansia muciniphila is incredible for your health, helping to regulate blood sugar, consuming excess mucus, and supporting your metabolism, a SIBO-level can cause constipation. Having a healthy diversity of microbes in your gut can help prevent such overgrowth.

SIBO and IBS actually share a lot of the same symptoms and many times the two get confused for one another. So, make sure you’re aware of which one you might have!

What are symptoms of SIBO?

Here are some of the main SIBO symptoms you might experience:

Abdominal pain
Nausea
constipation
Bloating
Diarrhea
Skin issues like acne
A leaky gut

There are also a multitude of gut-related conditions that have been shown to exacerbate SIBO, which includes celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and scleroderma. Really, any condition that inhibits the speed at which food and waste move through your small intestine can increase the likelihood of developing SIBO.

How do I know if I have SIBO?

The one way to know for sure is to get tested.

And when it comes to SIBO tests, there are 3 main ones:

1. Breath test

A breath test for SIBO is checking for hydrogen or methane gas produced by an abundance of not-so-friendly microbes in your gut.

2. Endoscopy

This SIBO test is also known as jejunal aspiration (your jejunum is a part of your small intestine). To perform this test, a doctor inserts a tube with a camera down your throat. This enables them to collect a sample culture from your small intestine, which is then analyzed for bacterial overgrowth.

3. SIBO stool test

Have you thought to yourself: How can I test myself for SIBO?

You’re in luck then because how to test for SIBO at home comes down to taking a simple stool test.

With a Flore Gut Health Test, you’ll receive a comprehensive level of detail about your gut that can not only identify if you have SIBO, but can also shed light on a variety of issues you may be experiencing with your gut.

Here’s how it works with a Flore Gut Health Test:

Step 1: We send a stool test kit right to your door. After taking the test, all you have to do is send it back to us with the prepaid mailer we’ve included. Shouldn’t take you longer than the time it takes to make a cup of morning coffee!
Step 2: Like we just mentioned above, this stool test provides more than just a test for SIBO. Our gut health tests are able to detect over 23,000 different microbes in your gut, from bacteria, fungi, and yeast to viruses and parasites. Once we receive your sample, our team of top-tier scientists get to work and create a custom detailed report based on your test kit sample.
Step 3: You get to talk one on one with a Flore Care Scientist who will run down the results of your stool test sample. Plus, they’ll help you craft a plan for achieving your gut health goals!

Want to know a little bit more about the Flore Gut Health Test? Click on the picture below!

How to treat SIBO naturally

Probiotics and SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) are related to each other. Probiotics are live microorganisms that are beneficial to the human body when ingested in adequate amounts. They are commonly found in fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut or can be taken in supplement form. Probiotics work by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, which helps maintain a healthy balance of microorganisms in the digestive system.

SIBO, on the other hand, is a condition where there is an excessive growth of bacteria in the small intestine. This overgrowth can lead to various digestive symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. SIBO can occur when the balance of bacteria in the gut is disrupted, which can happen due to factors such as prolonged use of antibiotics, low stomach acid, or a weakened immune system.

Studies have shown that probiotics can be an effective treatment for SIBO. Probiotics can help restore the balance of bacteria in the gut, which can reduce the symptoms associated with SIBO. However, it's important to note that not all probiotics are beneficial for SIBO, and the type of probiotic strain used should be carefully selected based on individual needs and symptoms.

If you do end up receiving a positive test result, the focus then turns to SIBO treatment. To ease your symptoms, the main goal should be on curbing the bacterial overgrowth in your small intestine of unpleasant bacteria, while flushing in beneficial bacteria to restore a healthy balance.

While antibiotics are usually a go-to for most infections, you’ll want to avoid them in your SIBO treatment. That’s because when it comes to destroying bacteria, antibiotics can’t tell the difference between good and bad bacteria. Killing off some of your good bacteria results in “friendly fire” so to speak. The goal is to repopulate your gut with good bacteria so eliminating them is the opposite of what we want!

With that in mind, the best way to attack SIBO and gain some relief is through a three-pronged approach: diet, probiotics, and relieving stress.

As for what you eat, consider starting a low FODMAP diet. Reducing the number of fermentable carbs in your diet as is done with low FODMAP can ease SIBO symptoms like gas, bloating, and constipation.

Probiotics are another tool at your disposal when it comes to healing SIBO and improving gut health. They help repopulate your gut with friendly bacteria. Research shows probiotics to be extremely effective when it comes to the treatment of SIBO.

Last but certainly not least, you’ll want to find ways to to relieve stress. Being stressed can elicit an immune system response that leads to SIBO flare-ups. Try yoga, mindfulness meditation, or journaling to add some calm to your life and deal with life’s daily stressors.

SIBO test wrap up

First, we talked about what SIBO—aka small intestinal bacterial overgrowth—is. It develops due to low stomach acid, which allows a whole plethora of bad microbes to build up in your small intestine.

Then, we talked about the different tests for SIBO there are out there, which include:

Breath test
Endoscopy
Stool test: If you’re looking for how to test for SIBO at home, this will be your go-to.

Last but certainly not least, we discussed how to treat SIBO naturally using a three-pronged approach:

Diet: Consider going low FODMAP to relieve digestive symptoms like constipation, gas, and bloating
Probiotics: Help repopulate your gut with a diverse set of beneficial bacteria and promotes healing
Stress relief: Finding ways to calm the mind and reduce stress decreases the likelihood of SIBO flare-ups.