Genetic tests are on the rise and we are continuing to discover what these tests can tell us about our bodies. Businesses need to be ahead of the game in understanding the results. In this blog, expert geneticist Dr Giles Yeo shares his research around getting the right information from genetic tests.

Consumer genetic testing: The importance of correctly interpreting data for business opportunities

The proliferation over the past decade of consumer genetic tests means that an increasing proportion of the population are likely to have some recently acquired knowledge of their personal genetic make-up. A number of companies, such as Marmite, have already begun to leverage this growing interest in genetics for commercial purposes.

Marmite, to those uninitiated, is a yeast extract-based savoury spread, originally concocted from a waste product of the beer brewing industry. Famously, people supposedly either love its taste or hate it. The ‘Marmite Gene Project(Opens in a new window)’ purports to be able to use your genes to tell whether or not you are a lover or a hater.

There are two issues here.

First, just by opening a jar and taking a sniff, it takes all of two nanoseconds to work out if you love it or hate it. Second, whilst there are a number of genes that influence whether or not you tend to be a lover or a hater, none of them determine whether you would enjoy a dollop of the almost black, rich umami paste on a slice of buttered toast (if you can’t tell, I love Marmite).

It is, however, all in good fun, ‘infotainment’ if you will, and for a while Marmite had it plastered all over their packaging. So, while it is highly unlikely that any actionable genetic information was uncovered through the campaign, it certainly got people talking about their brand, so their marketing goal was achieved.

The field of consumer genetic testing is just about ready to explode, for better or for worse. It is therefore inevitable that businesses will want to understand how to navigate this new landscape to improve personalisation of their products and services. I think the question to ask is whether these consumer genetic tests, for all their claims, can usefully predict anything at all?

As with most of the important questions in life, it depends.

There are indeed certain traits, such as the ability to digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products, that are predictable, because it is down to a single gene called lactase. But for the majority of traits, including height, weight, athletic prowess, risk of most diseases, and yes, the likelihood of loving or hating yeast extract-based condiments, hundreds to thousands of genes, each having a minute effect, are typically involved.

So most of the predictions made by testing companies involve conveying changing risk levels, rather than a diagnosis. This is not necessarily an issue, as long as the information is used appropriately.

I do think that the Marmite Gene Project campaign is an instructive example of a fun use of genetics, tapping into the zeitgeist, with zero harm caused. The problem is when a business makes outlandish claims based on genetics; at best this results in loss of confidence by consumers; at worse, it could lead to harm. Either way, I think you will agree that it is bad for business.

Dr Giles Yeo is a Programme Leader at the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit in Cambridge. His research currently focuses on the influence of genes on feeding behaviour and body weight.

Are you interested in finding out how to interpret and understand genetic data correctly? Dr Giles Yeo leads a course with the University of Cambridge Online: Interpreting Consumer Genetic Testing.