Meet Maag

Your gut is home to trillions of microbes. Together they make up your gut microbiome, and research increasingly links its diversity to all sorts of things, from digestion to how you feel day to day. It's a young, fast-moving field, with real science in it and an unfortunate amount of hype on top.

Maag exists to stay on the right side of that line. We're a gut-health company built on a simple idea: people deserve trustworthy, evidence-based information about their own gut, and practical, food-first ways to act on it. We educate first. We hedge honestly. And we would rather charge a fair price than sell you a miracle.

In the coming months we launch two things. The first is the Maag test, our at-home microbiome collection kit. After collection you send it into our lab for analysis. It maps the microbes living in your gut so we can tailor food recommendations to you. It does not diagnose illness. It shows you your starting point, and where there is room to grow your microbiome diversity over time.

The second is Maag Flora, a daily blend of real plants you add to meals you already eat. Whole foods, designed to reach your gut rather than dissolve on the way. An easy way to widen your plant variety on the days a varied plate doesn't happen, not a replacement for one.

Later this year come the meals: food designed around the science, to make eating for your gut the easy and enjoyable option rather than one more thing to get right. These will be designed in house and tailored to your results, we will also make the recipes available so you can cook them yourself when you have the time.

Pulling that off takes three things that rarely sit in one room: the microbiology, the food, and the technology. So that is the team we built.

The Team

Dr Elloise du Toit

Dr Elloise du Toit is a microbiologist, public health specialist, and science communicator with a passion for understanding the invisible world that shapes human health. She holds a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology and has spent her career working at the intersection of microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, genomics, and public health across Africa.

Elloise has spent years studying infectious diseases and the microbes that live alongside us. Her research has included next-generation sequencing, the human microbiome, antimicrobial resistance, and the translation of complex science into practical solutions that improve health outcomes.

As a co-founder of Maag, she is driven by a simple belief: people deserve access to trustworthy, evidence-based information about their gut health. Through Maag, she hopes to make microbiome science accessible, engaging, and relevant to everyday life while helping to build a deeper understanding of the relationship between food, microbes, and well-being.

When she's not talking about microbes, Elloise can usually be found exploring the outdoors, swimming in the ocean, or planning her next adventure.

Jodi-Ann Palmer

Jodi-Ann Palmer is one of Africa's foremost culinary innovators and strategic food consultants.

Jodi-Ann has spent almost two decades pioneering a highly specialised approach to culinary innovation that combines food science, consumer psychology, product development, operational excellence, and commercial strategy. Her work has influenced businesses and consumers alike across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the United Kingdom, making her one of the region's most respected voices in modern food innovation.

A significant area of her work has focused on functional foods and the intersection of nutrition, wellness, and consumer experience. Long before functional nutrition became a mainstream focus, Jodi-Ann was exploring how functional ingredients could deliver health benefits without compromising convenience, culinary experience, or accessibility. This work has resulted in pioneering products and concepts that challenged conventional thinking and showed how science-led innovation can reshape the future of food. Her own range of functional products has been recognised and showcased by international brands and consumers alike.

Beyond her development and business achievements, Jodi-Ann's accolades reflect an unwavering commitment to excellence. As a four-time South African Chef of the Year, multiple-time international gold medalist, and globally award-winning innovator, she has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, technical expertise, and creative vision. Her contributions to the hospitality, food service, and holistic health sectors have established her as a respected industry authority, trusted advisor, speaker, mentor, and thought leader.

As a founding member of Maag, her philosophy is simple: that personalised, focused eating, lifestyle, and daily rituals are a gateway to longevity and overall well-being.

Sascha Ramin

Sascha has been doing engineering for as long as he can remember — taking things apart, working out how they fit together, and ideally putting them back. That instinct claimed the occasional clock radio along the way, and grew into a career in technology spanning over twenty years and almost as many disciplines. Working across security, infrastructure, data science, and software engineering, he brings a tinkerer's range from kernel to UI.

Of all the systems he has worked on, the gut turned out to be the most interesting — messy, data-rich, badly documented, and wired into wellbeing in ways most of us never get to see. It is also deeply personal data, which is where his other conviction comes in: too many businesses are built on selling their users' information to the highest bidder. Sascha believes companies should charge fair prices and sell an honest product. Close to ten years of curiosity later, and alongside his phenomenal co-founders, he is convinced Maag can help people understand their own gut and take steps to improve it.

Where to from here

This newsletter is where we'll share what the science actually says, bust the odd myth, and keep you posted as the Maag test, Maag Flora, and then the meals arrive. No hype, no detox teas, just the useful stuff, plainly explained.

You don't have to wait for the test to start, either. The single most useful thing you can do for your gut microbiome is eat a wider variety of plants. Aim for 30 different ones across a week, and count everything that grows: vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices. Add one more than usual this week and you've already begun.

Want to be first in line when we launch? Check us out at maag.co.za and join our waitlist or subscribe below.