Introduction Many consumers nowadays demand plant-based milk analogues for reasons related to lifestyle, health, diet and sustainability. This has led to the increasing development of new vegetable products, fermented or not. In the meantime, industrialised countries experience a growing incidence of non-communicable diseases associated with chronic inflammation. There is thus a growing need for functional foods targeting gut microbiota, homeostasis and health. The objective of the present study was to develop a plant-based fermented product (based on soy milk analogue or on hemp milk analogue), as well as mixes, using lactic acid bacteria and propionic acid bacteria strains, as well as consortia thereof. Methods We screened a collection of 104 strains, from nine lactic acid bacteria species and two propionic acid bacteria species, based on their ability to ferment plant or milk carbohydrates, to acidify goat milk, soy milk analogue and hemp milk analogue, as well as to hydrolyse proteins isolated from these three products. Strains were also screened for their immunomodulatory ability to induce secretion of two interleukins, i.e., IL-10 and IL-12, in human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC). Fermented products were tested on cultured Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells (HIEC) HT-29, in the presence or in the absence of pro-inflammatory lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli. The readout of inflammation modulation was the quantification of IL-8 by ELISA. Finally, fermented products were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory potential in a gold-standard model of colitis induced by TNBS in Sprague-Dawley rats. The macroscopic Wallace score was monitored as a readout. Results Following immunological and biochemical screening of both probiotic and fermentation starter abilities, we selected five strains: Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis Bioprox1585, Lactobacillus acidophilus Bioprox6307, Lactococcus lactis Bioprox7116, Streptococcus thermophilus CIRM-BIA251, and Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici CIRM-BIA2003. We then assembled them in 26 different bacterial consortia. Goat milk and soy milk analogue, fermented by each of the five strains or by the 26 consortia, were tested in vitro, for their ability to modulate inflammation in cultured Human Epithelial Intestinal Cells, stimulated or not by proinflammatory Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Escherichia coli. Plant-based milk analogues, fermented by one consortium composed of L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis Bioprox1585, Lc. lactis Bioprox7116, and A. acidipropionici CIRM-BIA2003, reduced the secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-8 in HIECs. Finally, this fermented product was administered to rats in a preventive mode, prior to colitis induction. Its consumption protected rats and limited the severity of the colitis. Indeed, TNBS increased, while fermented product decreased, the macroscopic Wallace score in these rats. Its is presently tested in a rat model of IBS where anti-nociceptive effect is sought. Discussion This work reinforces the potent beneficial role of fermented products, provided that the ferment strains possess probiotic properties. Such innovative fermented vegetable products thus open perspectives as functional foods targeting gut inflammation, in a context of growing incidence of inflammatory ailments related to the gut microbiota, worldwide.