Formulation Scientist Needed - Rebuild a Children's Liquid Gut-Brain Supplement From Scratch

We're rebuilding our product from zero, and we want the best formula on the market. We're an established DTC supplement brand selling a liquid gut-health product for children in the US market. The product has been selling on subscription for a while, so this is not a startup idea on a napkin... we have real customers, real retention data, and real feedback from parents. Here's our problem. Our audience is parents of children with ADHD. The research linking ADHD to the gut-brain axis has been growing fast, and almost every product in this space works on one side only: it targets the brain and ignores the gut, or it targets the gut with no thought for behavior, focus or sleep outcomes. Our current formula was built before we understood our own market properly. Looking at it honestly, the ingredient deck reads like an anti-parasitic cleanse. It works well enough that customers stay, but it is not specific to the problem we say we solve, and "cleanse" is not where we want this brand positioned. We'd rather rebuild it correctly than keep selling something we can't fully stand behind. So we're starting over. New formula, new ingredient logic, new positioning... built for the gut and the brain together, in a natural liquid format that children will actually take. We've done a first round of research ourselves and we have a draft ingredient list with target doses. We are not attached to it. We want an expert who will challenge it, cut what doesn't belong, and tell us what the evidence actually supports. What we're looking for from you - Review our draft ingredient list and tell us honestly what's supported, what's marketing, and what should be removed - Propose the final ingredient set for a children's liquid product targeting gut and cognitive/behavioral outcomes - Define dosing by age band, with the rationale and the evidence behind each number - Flag safety limits, contraindications, and interactions that matter for children - including children who may be on ADHD medication - Advise on what's realistic in liquid format: solubility, stability, shelf life, preservative system, taste and texture (a formula children refuse is a failed formula) - Help us produce a spec sheet we can hand to a contract manufacturer, and be available to sanity-check what they come back with Who we think is the right fit - PhD, MSc or equivalent in food science, nutritional biochemistry, pharmacy, or a closely related field - Hands-on formulation experience with supplements... not only research, we need someone who has taken a formula through to production - Experience with pediatric products and liquid formats is a strong advantage - Familiarity with the gut-brain axis literature (probiotics/postbiotics, omega-3, micronutrients, botanicals) and with what the evidence does and does not support in children - Working knowledge of US supplement regulation (DSHEA, FDA labeling, FTC claim substantiation) - Willing to disagree with us. We're paying for judgment, not agreement. Long-term, and beyond the formula We're rebuilding our entire product line, so this can be an ongoing relationship: an expert we come back to for future formulas, dose questions, and manufacturer conversations. Separately, and only if it's a fit on both sides, we're interested in working with an expert who is willing to be publicly associated with the brand... named as our formulation advisor, appearing in brand and marketing material, giving parents a real scientist behind the product. This is optional and compensated separately. If you're not comfortable with it, say so and it changes nothing about the main role. How to apply Please skip the generic proposal. We'll read every reply that answers these four questions: - Name one supplement formula you've worked on and what your specific contribution was. - Looking at the gut-brain axis for children, which one or two ingredients do you think are genuinely well-supported, and which popular one do you think is overrated? - What's the hardest part of making a children's liquid supplement that actually tastes acceptable? - What's your availability over the next 4 weeks, and how do you prefer to be paid - hourly or fixed per phase?