The Zya ecosystem

The founders

At university Niels and Josh saw how bright ideas could get stuck in labs. So, they started working on a way of applying science outside their studies.

Eventually this became Zya—a way for them to bring the power of natural enzymes to help improve everyday nutrition.

Joshua Sauer

Joshua SauerPhD

Co-Founder & CEO

Josh is motivated to make better nutrition accessible to everyone. With a vision for a healthier and tastier future, Josh is dedicated to bridging the gap between cutting-edge bioscience and people’s everyday lives. He holds a chemistry degree and a bioscience PhD from the University of Oxford.

Niels Wicke

Niels WickePHD

Co-Founder & CSO

Niels firmly believes that science is a team sport. During his PhD at the University of Oxford he worked on functional proteins in the gut and became fascinated by the outsized impact of tiny molecular changes. At Zya, Niels leads the R&D program and coordinates Zya’s research partners.

Our advisory team

Portrait of Tony Kilbourn

Tony Kilbourn

NED

Former Marketing Director at Mars, GSK

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Portrait of Gary Frost

Gary Frost

Advisor

Chair of Dietetics & Nutrition at Imperial College London

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Portrait of Vanessa Ballard

Vanessa Ballard

Advisor

Former VP of Global Marketing at Bunge, Cargill

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Portrait of Jacob Afriat

Jacob Afriat

Advisor

Former Director at Danone Manifesto Ventures

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Portrait of Judy Taylor

Judy Taylor

Advisor

Consumer Researcher & Strategist. Past clients include: GSK, Tesco

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Portrait of Jacquie Chick

Jacquie Chick

Advisor

Brand Planner & Strategist. Past clients include: Unilever, Kraft Heinz, Kellogg's

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We collaborate with world-leading scientists to push the boundaries of innovation.

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Boston Bioprocess

Bioprocess development

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Aminoverse

Enzyme discovery & improvement

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Aelius Biotech

Gut modelling

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And we’re backed by:

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