#BluePoopChallenge: A bold intro to ZOE’s science and a viral moment for gut health
The Challenge
What if a blue muffin could spark a global conversation about the gut microbiome? ZOE’s scientists had developed a novel method for measuring gut transit time, published in a respected medical journal. We saw an opportunity to translate that research into a bold, science-backed public moment—one that would raise awareness of gut health and introduce ZOE’s science to a broad audience in a way that felt fresh, culturally relevant, and just cheeky enough to go viral.
The Approach
We developed an integrated, organic campaign to drive participation and storytelling. This included:
A dedicated website with an interactive quiz and gut transit time tracker
A suite of playful, science-backed social assets, including animated poop characters and recipe videos
Co-created videos with trusted influencers and ZOE scientists to explain the research and how to take part
A limited-time email series featuring practical advice from ZOE’s research team
A live virtual brunch bake-along on Instagram, hosted by @chiefspicemama
Influencer and media #BluePoopChallenge boxes with blue muffins
The tone was intentionally light and irreverent, creating space for humor while staying grounded in real science. We optimized the campaign for earned media, social sharing, and community engagement, all without paid acquisition.
The Outcome
The campaign took off quickly, generating hundreds of thousands of visits to our website and strong engagement across channels. A standout moment came when @bakinghermann shared a video of his blue muffin bake. His post went viral on TikTok, introducing ZOE to millions and fueling a wave of user participation and conversation.
We earned more than 125 media placements, including BBC, HuffPost, Newsweek, Prevention, Well+Good, and Parade, helping position ZOE as a trusted voice in the health space. On Instagram, our following grew by 33%, with 18% growth in the U.S., driven by playful, science-forward content that resonated with our audience.
Learnings
The #BluePoopChallenge showed that even complex science can break through when it’s presented with creativity, clarity, and a bit of humor. It helped us build stronger media relationships, explore influencer partnerships, and experiment with new formats for engaging the public in research.
Most of all, it reminded us that people are curious about their health—and ready to participate when science feels approachable and fun.