Explainer
CFU counts, decoded (including why "50 billion" is not always better)
What a CFU actually is, why the number at manufacture is not the number at expiry, and how to read a batch certificate.
A CFU — colony-forming unit — is a live cell that can divide and form a visible colony on a plate. It is the only meaningful unit of probiotic dose, and it tells you nothing about whether the cells are alive when you drink them.
Labels almost always quote the count at manufacture. A product with "50 billion CFU" and an 18-month ambient shelf life may be well under 10 billion by the time it reaches you. This is legal, common, and unhelpful.
What to look for instead: (1) a count tested at dispatch, not manufacture; (2) named strains, not a proprietary blend; (3) a published certificate of analysis per batch. We publish all three, and our worst measured case is 91% of label at 21 days post-dispatch.
More is also not universally better. For a first-time probiotic user or someone with a sensitive gut, a 10 billion dose often lands better than 50 billion — starting high can cause a week of gas and then abandonment. That is why our gentle formula exists and why our quiz starts most people there.