NIMA is the 2026 Gold Stevie Award Winner

Why NIMA’s Gold Stevie Win Matters

When NIMA returned earlier this year, the goal was never just to bring back a familiar product. It was to rebuild trust.

That is why we are especially proud to share that NIMA has been named a Gold Stevie Award winner for Achievement in Product Innovation in the 2026 American Business Awards®. 

The recognition honors the ground-up rebuild of our product, app, and quality systems. More importantly, it validates the work invested in developing a more accurate and reliable tool for a community that must carefully consider every bite it takes.

Building on a Legacy of Innovation

As many in the community know, NIMA is not a brand-new idea. It is a category pioneer. 

Originally developed by MIT students and first launched in 2013, NIMA helped create the portable gluten detection category, giving consumers a fast, discreet way to test food for hidden gluten in minutes. The original sensor earned national recognition, including TIME Best Inventions of 2015. 

However, after Medline acquired the company in 2020, pandemic-era supply chain disruptions halted capsule production, leaving the celiac community without access to a tool many had come to rely on.

What makes this Gold Stevie recognition especially meaningful is that it honors not just the return of NIMA but the rigorous work it took to bring it back. Following a new investment from RA Capital Management in 2025, NIMA underwent a nine-month, ground-up rebuild under new leadership with a renewed focus on product excellence, manufacturing rigor, and operational stability.

The Next-Gen Difference

Relaunched in January 2026, the next-generation NIMA includes several major advancements:

• Greater Sensitivity: Detects gluten down to 10 parts per million across wheat, barley, and rye
• Independent Validation: Achieved 99% accuracy in testing by Bia Diagnostics using AOAC reference methods
• Enhanced Technology:  Improved LED optics, a camera-based reading system, and a refined result-reading algorithm
• NIMA Now App: A new Bluetooth-enabled companion app developed with health specialists to track results and manage device firmware
• Operational Rigor: A formal Quality Management System now governs every stage of production to ensure reliability

What the Judges Said 

That evolution is a big reason the judges responded so strongly.  Feedback from the reviewers described NIMA as “a best-in-class submission,” praised its “meaningful scientific innovation,” and for addressing “a genuine and significant need in the market.” 

Another judge called it “a highly compelling submission combining strong technical innovation with meaningful real-world impact for an underserved population.”

We know that for people living with celiac disease, the stakes are high. There is currently no approved treatment beyond strict avoidance of gluten, yet the community is often left to manage that burden with incomplete labeling and inconsistent food service. Our research in 2026 documented this "disease burden," finding that the lack of resources contributes to persistent anxiety, isolation, and emotional fatigue.

NIMA is one of the only tools available that can help bridge this gap, allowing people to test food in moments of doubt. That reassurance can mean the difference between staying home alone or accepting an invitation to dinner with friends. 

To some people, that may sound like a small thing. But those living with celiac disease know it is not.

Real-World Impact

Since the relaunch, the response from the community has been overwhelming:

• NIMA has activated more than 2,000 devices 
• Supported more than 100,000 meals
• Achieved 90%+ customer satisfaction
• Earned a 70 Net Promoter Score 

We are grateful to the Stevie Awards judges for recognizing this early success, and even more grateful to the celiac and gluten-free community that continues to support, challenge, and inspire us. 

This award is an important milestone, but it is not the finish line. We will keep working to advance the science, improve the experience, and build tools that help people feel safer, more confident, and more included around food.

Because at the end of the day, that is what this work is really about.