Bright AM
The morning supplement for ages 6 to 17. Saffron, honey and a probiotic to start the day.
Made for our own kids first.
Launching soon
Bright AM is launching soon.
$69 a month on subscription, or $79 one-off. Founding Member places are offered to the waitlist first, in the order people joined.
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What the research shows
Fix the gut, fix the brain.
Saffiome is built around affron, a standardised saffron extract with eleven published placebo-controlled trials in more than 1,000 people, at the same daily amount the teen trial used: 14 mg to start the day, 14 mg to end it. The studies were on the ingredients, so every number below carries an asterisk.
One sachet is half the routine. The trials used saffron morning and evening, 28 mg a day, so pair this sachet with its partner or choose the bundle.
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33% vs 17%Worry and low-mood symptoms, teens 12 to 16
In an 8-week trial, teens taking 14 mg of affron twice a day, the Saffiome routine, saw a 33% drop in worry and low-mood symptoms against 17% on placebo. More than a third had their scores at least halve, against about one in nine on placebo.*
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72.3% vs 54.3%A meaningful lift in mood score, adults
In a 12-week trial of 202 adults with low mood, 72.3% taking 28 mg of affron a day had a meaningful lift in mood score, against 54.3% on placebo.*
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28 daysBetter-quality sleep ratings, adults
In a 28-day trial of 120 adults with poor sleep, 14 mg of affron before bed improved sleep quality ratings against placebo. A second 28-day trial of 63 adults found the same on 14 mg twice a day.*
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11 trialsPublished placebo-controlled trials of affron
Eleven published placebo-controlled trials in more than 1,000 people, including the only one in teenagers. Two sachets a day is the same daily amount and the same morning-and-evening split that trial used.*
*Studies conducted on individual ingredients, not on Saffiome as a finished product. Individual results may vary.
- Kids and teens 6 to 17
- 30 serves per pouch
- About 30 days
- Made on the Gold Coast
- For kids and teens aged 6 to 17
- Honey texture. No pills, no chewing, no mixing.
- Same taste, same texture, every day
- No dyes. No artificial flavours.
- Every ingredient named, with its amount
- Skip, pause or cancel any time
Pairs with
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PMDream PM
The evening supplement for ages 6 to 17. Saffron, tart cherry, chamomile and lemon balm.
30 serves per pouch
See Dream PM
The routine
One to start the day, one to end it. That is the whole routine.
AMMorning
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Step 1
Bright AM to start the day
One sachet when the day starts. Straight from the sachet, off a spoon, or stirred into porridge or yoghurt. No food needed. Part of getting out the door. Supports a steady mood through the day.*
PMEvening
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Step 1
Dream PM to end the day
One sachet in the early evening, about an hour before bed. The evening one, with tart cherry, chamomile and lemon balm, and a fifth probiotic species for the evening. Your bedtime routine stays exactly as it is. Supports a calmer evening and better-quality sleep.*
*Studies conducted on individual ingredients, not on Saffiome as a finished product. Individual results may vary.
Ingredients
Every ingredient, with its amount and its reason
Australian honey
80% of the base per sachet
The base
Eighty per cent of every sachet, from a family-owned Queensland honey house. It carries everything else, and it is the reason kids take it without a fight.
From: Queensland, Australia
Read more
Australian Manuka honey, certified MGO 250+
20% of the base per sachet
The graded part of the base
Twenty per cent of the honey base is Australian Manuka from Leptospermum nectar, certified MGO 250+ on every batch. The grade describes the Manuka, not the whole sachet.
From: Queensland, Australia
Read more
affron saffron extract
14 mg per sachet
The studied saffron
A standardised extract of saffron stigma, 3.5% Lepticrosalides, the extract used in eleven placebo-controlled trials. Two sachets a day is 28 mg, the daily amount the teen trial used.
From: Spain
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Fermented saffron
100 mg (providing 5 mg saffron) per sachet
Saffron, transformed
Whole saffron fermented by a live culture on the Gold Coast. Five per cent of it is saffron; the rest is the postbiotic, the cells and metabolites the fermentation made.
From: Fermented on the Gold Coast
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xoBiome MoodBalance probiotic
100 mg per sachet
The live cultures
A multi-strain probiotic: Lactobacillus helveticus, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium breve in Bright AM (kids) and Rise AM (adults), with L. brevis added in Dream PM (kids) and Restore PM (adults). Strain codes and the live count per sachet print here once confirmed.
From: Made on the Gold Coast
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Vitamin C, from acerola cherry
10 mg vitamin C (about 75 mg acerola powder) per sachet
The daily vitamin
Vitamin C from acerola cherry powder in Bright AM (kids) and Rise AM (adults): about a quarter of the daily intake for kids and teens, about half for adults. Vitamin C contributes to normal psychological function and to the normal functioning of the nervous system.
From: Acerola cherry
Read more
Every ingredient named, with its amount. No blends, no hidden numbers.
The base
Honey that is more than a sweetener.
Every sachet is built on honey: 80% Australian honey and 20% Australian Manuka certified MGO 250+. Not syrup, not sweeteners. Honey is the reason a six-year-old takes the sachet, and it brings its own prebiotic story.
80% of the baseAustralian honey
The prebiotic base, not a filler
Genuine 100% Australian honey from a family-owned Queensland honey house that has kept bees for more than thirty years. Honey's natural oligosaccharides feed Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli in laboratory studies, and honey grew ten to a hundred times more lactobacilli than sugar in the lab, with higher counts in animals fed honey rather than sugar.* That is why the base is honey and not syrup.
Honey is also one of the few foods with placebo-controlled trials in young children: in two trials of children kept up by a cough, parents rated their child's sleep better after a spoon of honey before bed than after placebo.*
Sanz 2005; Shamala 2000; Cohen 2012; Paul 2007. About 6 g of natural sugars per sachet, with or without food.
20% of the baseAustralian Manuka
Certified MGO 250+, a grade you can check
One fifth of the honey is Australian Manuka, made by bees working the flowers of Leptospermum, a native tree of Australia and New Zealand. Its grade is a number: MGO 250+ means at least 250 milligrams of methylglyoxal per kilogram, certified on every batch, at the threshold of the grade most people know as UMF 10+.
Manuka is studied for its effect on gut bacteria. In a four-week human trial, 20 g a day of high-grade Manuka left the gut's beneficial bacteria undisturbed, and in the lab Manuka supported Bifidobacterium growth in probiotic milk.* We use it for what it is: a premium, tested honey that belongs in a gut-brain routine.
Wallace 2010; Ibrahim 2026; Cokcetin 2016 for the MGO facts. MGO 250+ describes the Manuka, not the whole sachet.
*Studies conducted on individual ingredients, not on Saffiome as a finished product. Individual results may vary. Laboratory and animal studies unless stated.
xoBiome MoodBalance
Five probiotic species. Each with a gut-brain story.
The gut and the brain talk all day, through the vagus nerve, through hormones and through the immune system, and the bacteria in the gut join that conversation. xoBiome MoodBalance is a multi-strain probiotic built for it, developed and made on the Gold Coast. Bright AM carries four species. Dream PM adds a fifth for the evening.
- Both sachets
The famous pairing
Lactobacillus helveticus
One half of the most-studied psychobiotic pairing in the research. In a 30-day placebo-controlled trial, healthy adults taking L. helveticus with a Bifidobacterium had lower psychological distress scores and lower stress hormone in their urine than the placebo group.*
Messaoudi 2011 (L. helveticus R0052 with B. longum R0175). MoodBalance strain: XXXXXX. Live count per sachet: XXXXXX CFU at end of shelf life.
- Both sachets
The vagus nerve study
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
The species behind the study that started the gut-brain field. In mice, L. rhamnosus changed the brain's calming GABA receptors and lowered stress hormones, and the effect disappeared when the vagus nerve was cut.* In a New Zealand trial of 423 mothers, L. rhamnosus HN001 through pregnancy meant lower low-mood and worry scores after the birth.*
Bravo 2011 (JB-1, mice); Slykerman 2017 (HN001). MoodBalance strain: XXXXXX. Live count per sachet: XXXXXX CFU at end of shelf life.
- Both sachets
The one with a trial in kids
Lactobacillus plantarum
The species with a randomised, placebo-controlled trial in autistic children. In Taiwan, 80 boys aged 7 to 15 took L. plantarum PS128 or placebo for four weeks. The trial's three main measures showed no difference against placebo. A difference appeared only in the younger 7 to 12 group, on one secondary measure of opposition and defiance.* In 111 stressed adults, L. plantarum DR7 for 12 weeks lowered stress and worry scores and the stress hormone cortisol against placebo.*
Liu 2019 (PS128); Chong 2019 (DR7). Full study details are in our hub. MoodBalance strain: XXXXXX. Live count per sachet: XXXXXX CFU at end of shelf life.
- Both sachets
The memory and mood one
Bifidobacterium breve
In a 16-week placebo-controlled trial of 80 older adults, B. breve A1 improved memory and thinking scores against placebo, with no adverse events.* In a 4-week trial of 45 adults with low mood, B. breve CCFM1025 improved mood scores against placebo, alongside changes in the gut's tryptophan chemistry.*
Xiao 2020 (A1); Tian 2022 (CCFM1025). MoodBalance strain: XXXXXX. Live count per sachet: XXXXXX CFU at end of shelf life.
- Dream PM only
The evening species
Lactobacillus brevis
The GABA maker. Of 91 human gut bacteria tested, L. brevis was the most efficient producer of GABA, the brain's main calming messenger, converting up to 90% of its raw material.* That is why it is in the evening sachet and not the morning one.
Barrett 2012 (DPC6108). MoodBalance strain: XXXXXX. Live count per sachet: XXXXXX CFU at end of shelf life.
- How to read this
Honest note
Species, strains and what we can say
Probiotic research is strain-specific. The studies above were on named strains of each species. MoodBalance carries these five species; its strain codes (XXXXXX) and live count per sachet (XXXXXX CFU at end of shelf life) are being confirmed with our manufacturer and will be printed here. Until then we tell you the species story and nothing more.
Read the gut-brain research in The Gut-Brain Connection hub.
*Studies on the species, or on particular strains of it, not on xoBiome MoodBalance or on Saffiome. XXXXXX marks a fact we are confirming with our manufacturer before it is printed.
The evening herbs
What turns the day toward night.
Dream PM carries three evening herbs: tart cherry, chamomile and lemon balm. Each one has its own research, and lemon balm has the most of it in children under 12. The adult sachet, Restore PM, carries the same three in larger amounts plus passionflower.
Dream PM (kids)The evening fruit
Tart cherry, studied for sleep in adults
350 mg in every Dream PM sachet. Sour cherry concentrated ten to one, for the compounds that help the body keep tryptophan available in the evening, the building block of its sleep and mood chemistry. In a small trial, adults over 50 slept 84 minutes longer on tart cherry juice than on placebo, and in a 7-day trial of 20 adults, total sleep time and sleep efficiency both rose.*
Losso 2018: eight adults over 50 with insomnia, 240 mL twice a day for two weeks, polysomnography. The trials used juice, so we call it a studied ingredient, not a studied amount.
Dream PM (kids)The evening flower
Chamomile, studied for calm in adults
50 mg in every Dream PM sachet. The flower behind Europe's evening tea for centuries. In an 8-week trial, adults taking chamomile extract reported lower worry scores than those on placebo, and a 28-day trial in older adults found better sleep quality ratings than placebo.*
Amsterdam 2009; Adib-Hajbaghery 2017. One 28-day trial in adults with long-term insomnia found no difference on sleep diaries, and we say so.
Dream PM (kids)The calm herb
Lemon balm, studied in children
50 mg in every Dream PM sachet. A lemon-scented mint used for calm since the Middle Ages, and the evening herb with the most study in children under 12. In two German studies of more than a thousand children under 12, parents and paediatricians rated a lemon balm and valerian blend as improving restlessness and settling to sleep in most children.*
Müller 2006 (918 children); Gromball 2014 (169 children); Kennedy 2004. The child studies used a blend with valerian and had no placebo group.
*Studies conducted on individual ingredients, not on Saffiome as a finished product. Individual results may vary. Amounts in the sachet are extracts; the trials used juices, teas and larger extract amounts, so these are studied ingredients, not studied amounts.
What to expect
Give it the time the studies gave it.
Saffiome is a daily supplement, not a switch. The trials measured change at four, eight and twelve weeks, so that is the honest timeline.
- Days 1 to 14
The routine settles in.
Two sachets, start and end of the day. Most kids take to the honey on day one. The win in the first fortnight is that it happens without a fight, and that it happens every day.
- Week 4
The first point the adult trials measured a change.
At four weeks, adults with low mood scored better on mood than placebo at 28 mg of affron a day, and adults with poor sleep rated their sleep quality better.*
- Week 8
The point the teen trial measured its result.
At eight weeks on 14 mg twice a day, teens aged 12 to 16 reported a 33% drop in worry and low-mood symptoms against 17% on placebo. More than a third had their scores at least halve, against about one in nine on placebo.*
- Week 12
The point the largest adult trial measured its result.
At twelve weeks, 72.3% of adults on 28 mg a day had a meaningful lift in mood score against 54.3% on placebo.* No trial ran longer, so we promise nothing past it. Most families keep the routine because it is easy, not because a calendar says so.
*Studies conducted on individual ingredients, not on Saffiome as a finished product. Individual results may vary.
Where it fits
Fits right in with what you already do.
Saffiome is the morning and night routine that fits around everything your family already does. OT, psych, school supports, medication if you use it: all of that stays. Saffiome is two sachets, one to start the day and one to end it. It does not replace anything, and it does not ask you to change anything else.
If your child takes prescribed medication, show your prescriber the ingredient list before you start. It is all on this page.
What we left out
What's not in it
For a lot of kids, what is missing matters as much as what is there.
- No dyes or artificial colours
- No artificial flavours
- No pills, capsules or gummies to chew
- No caffeine, in either kids' sachet
- No powders to mix or shakers to wash
Parent Stories
What families say.
Mornings in our house used to start with a negotiation. Now the sachet goes on the table next to the cereal and that is that. She calls it her sunshine honey.
Kate M., Burleigh Heads, mum of a 7-year-old
Both boys have busy brains and both take it without a fight, which is more than I can say for anything else we have tried. Same taste every day is the whole trick.
Daniel R., Newcastle, dad of two, 6 and 9
We run OT, a psych and a school plan. This slotted in without changing any of it. It fits right in with what you already do, exactly as it says.
Priya S., Melbourne, mum of an 8-year-old
The 3pm crash is real in our house. I will not tell you it fixed anything, but breakfast and dinner sachets have made our days feel steadier, and she likes the taste, which is half the battle.
Jess T., Sunshine Coast, mum of a 10-year-old
Sensory kid. Textures are a battlefield. Smooth honey, no bits, no pills, and it is the same every single time. That is why it stuck.
Marcus L., Perth, dad of a 6-year-old
One sachet each after dinner, then teeth, then books. Dream PM has become the signal that the day is turning over. My favourite part is the ingredient list, which I can actually read.
Alana B., Gold Coast, mum of twins, 7
I read the teen study before I bought. Same amount of saffron, split the same way. That honesty is why we are here.
Tom W., Canberra, dad of a 12-year-old
Fussy eater, and I mean fussy. Honey was the way in. Stirred into porridge in the morning and straight off the spoon at dinner.
Sarah K., Adelaide, mum of a 9-year-old
What sold me was what is not in it. No dyes, no artificial anything, and every amount printed. My daughter says the evening one tastes like cherries and I say it tastes like a quieter dinner table.
Nadia F., Brisbane, mum of an 11-year-old
He is our sensory kid and new foods are a negotiation that can take a month. Honey was not a negotiation. Day one, spoon, done. That alone was worth it.
Chloe D., Hobart, mum of a 6-year-old
What got me was the species cards. Real names, real studies, and an honest note saying which strain codes were still being confirmed. Nobody else in this category talks to parents like adults.
Ben H., Wollongong, dad of two, 8 and 11
My daughter is right at the age the teen study covered, so I read it. Same amount, same split. She takes it herself now, breakfast and dinner, no reminders from me.
Mel F., Cairns, mum of a 13-year-old
A note from Regan
I made Saffiome for my own kids first.
I made Saffiome for my own kids first. Two little honey sachets, one to start the day and one to end it, with ingredients I'd actually read the studies on and nothing I wouldn't give my own girls. No preservatives, no additives, no junk.
It fits right in with what you already do. Whatever your family already does stays. This just fits into two moments you already have.
Regan Merka, founder
Who is behind it
- From the founder of Burleigh WagonRegan Merka designed Burleigh Wagon, the Gold Coast beach wagon you may have seen on Shark Tank Australia.
- Premier of Queensland Export AwardsBurleigh Wagon, Regan's first company: e-Commerce winner in 2022 and Emerging Exporter finalist in 2024.
- Made on the Gold CoastDeveloped and made on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
- Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year 2024Founder Regan Merka, entrepreneur category winner, 2024.
- Gold Coast Women in Business Awards 2024Regan Merka, Rising Star (Small Business) winner, October 2024.
Questions parents ask
Can my child take Saffiome alongside ADHD medication?
Saffiome is a supplement in a honey sachet: saffron, a probiotic, and evening herbs in the evening sachet. It is designed to sit alongside medication, OT, psych and school supports, because it fits right in with what you already do. Every child is different, so if your child takes prescribed medication, check with your prescriber before adding anything new, and take the ingredient list with you. Every ingredient and amount is on this page.
Is Saffiome suitable for autistic kids?
Saffiome is for all kids and teens aged 6 to 17, and we built it as a neurodivergent family. In practice that means one flavour, the same texture every day, no dyes, no artificial flavours, no pills and no chewing. It is not a treatment for autism or for anything else. If your child has sensory sensitivities, the next question covers what to expect.
Is it OK for kids with sensory sensitivities?
One flavour. Smooth honey with no bits, so the texture is the same every day. No dyes, no artificial flavours, no pills, no chewing, no fizzing, no mixing. A small sachet to start the day and one to end it, so the routine is predictable. If a new texture is hard for your child, start with the sachet stirred into something they already eat.
My child is a very fussy eater. Will they take it?
It is honey. Most kids take honey. It comes in one flavour, tastes the same every day, and goes on a spoon, into porridge or yoghurt, or straight from the sachet. If your child will not take it, our 30-day guarantee covers you.
The studies were in teens and adults. What about younger kids?
True, and we will not pretend otherwise. The saffron extract in Saffiome, affron, has eleven published placebo-controlled trials in more than 1,000 people, and the youngest participants were 12 to 16. Saffiome uses the same daily amount that trial used, split the same way. There is no placebo-controlled trial of affron in children under 12. The evening herbs have studies in children under 12, but as a blend with valerian and without a placebo group. Bright AM and Dream PM are for 6 to 17: the teen trial's daily amount is exactly what two kids' sachets deliver. From 18, Rise AM and Restore PM. Every study is listed in The Gut-Brain Connection hub, so you can read them yourself.
Will this help my child sleep?
We cannot promise that, and no honest supplement company can. What we can tell you: in two placebo-controlled trials, adults with poor sleep rated their sleep quality better on affron, and the evening sachet carries tart cherry, chamomile and lemon balm, each with sleep or calm studies in adults.* Dream PM goes in the early evening, about an hour before bed, and your bedtime routine stays exactly as it is.
How much sugar is in it?
Each kids' sachet has about 6 g of sugar, all of it from the honey, so two sachets a day is about 12.5 g, or three teaspoons. That is the honey doing its job as the food that carries everything else. Bright AM in the morning, Dream PM in the early evening about an hour before bed, so it is done before teeth are brushed.
When do we take them?
Bright AM when the day starts. Dream PM in the early evening, about an hour before bed. No food needed, and your bedtime routine stays exactly as it is.
Can I buy Bright AM or Dream PM on its own?
Yes. Each pouch is $79 one-off or $69 a month on subscription. The Kids Day-Night Bundle brings both together for $149 one-off or $119 a month, which is less than two singles. One thing to know: the teen trial used saffron morning and evening, 28 mg a day. One sachet is half that, so the bundle is the routine the research was built on.
How does the subscription work?
A new delivery every 30 days, charged to the card you choose at checkout. You can skip a month, pause or cancel any time from your account. No lock-in and no cancellation fee.
What is a Founding Member?
The first 100 families to subscribe to the Kids Day-Night Bundle pay $99 a month, and that price holds for as long as the subscription stays active. If you cancel and come back later, you rejoin at the price of the day.
Guarantee, shipping and questions
30-Day Money Back Guarantee
If it is not right for your family, email us within 30 days of delivery. One refund per product per household; the product comes back to us.
Shipping
Free standard shipping on orders $95 and over, so every bundle ships free. A single pouch ships for $9.95. Dispatched in 1 to 2 business days.
Questions?
The FAQ covers the common ones. For anything else, email us.