We sat down with the founder of Nourished, Melissa Snover to explore the inspiration behind the innovative health and wellness brand. Find out how a personal need led to the creation of bespoke 3D-printed vitamin gummies, the challenges overcome, and the unique approach that sets Nourished apart in the industry.
What inspired you to create Nourished, and how did you identify a gap in the health and wellness market?
“My inspiration for creating Nourished came from a personal need for convenience and personalisation in nutrition. As a busy entrepreneur, I found it extremely frustrating to carry around multiple vitamins and supplements whilst travelling to maintain my specific nutrition regime. On one occasion, I accidentally dropped my bag of supplements at airport security. Crawling around in my suit and heels and picking them up inspired me to simplify and enhance how we take our daily vitamins. After doing some market analysis, I realised there were plenty of companies offering ‘personalised vitamins’; but no-one was authentically manufacturing them on demand with the end consumer in mind. I made it my mission to develop a solution that offered truly personalised nutrition, in an easy and enjoyable format that would be convenient to take anywhere.”
What differentiates your brand from others in the industry?
“At Nourished, we have developed patented 3D printing technology in-house to create bespoke gummy stacks tailored to each customer’s specific lifestyle and health goals. Our process starts with a short online questionnaire, which informs our science-backed algorithm to recommend a personalised ‘Stack’ of seven vitamins, superfoods, and nutrients bespoke to the individual. With millions of potential combinations, this ‘Stack’ is then freshly 3D printed on-demand to ensure optimised absorption and efficacy. Making each customer’s ‘Stacks’ to order also sets us apart from traditional supplement brands, where products can be up to 18 months old before a customer consumes them. This protracted supply chain results in lower efficacy levels as they lose potency over time, and ultimately diminished impact for the consumer. By combining cutting-edge technology with a commitment to health and sustainability, we have created a distinctive brand that resonates with our customer’s needs and beliefs.”
How hard has it been to get here?
“Launching Nourished just a few months before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant challenge! Despite it being an uncertain and difficult time for businesses worldwide, we were extremely grateful to have been able to survive and thrive. We experienced a sharp rise in consumer demand for personalised nutrition during the pandemic, and as we control our entire UK-based supply chain and 3D print each product in demand, we were lucky enough to be relatively unaffected by external factors such as shipping delays, caused by the pandemic.”
So tech is pretty important to you guys…
“Our 3D printing technology is pivotal to our business. It allows us to create truly personalised nutrition products for our customers, to help them fast-track their goals and optimise their lifestyles. We are also constantly innovating our technology, and last year developed a new large scale manufacturing line which enables us to make hundreds of thousands of a specific SKU in a matter of hours. This hybrid manufacturing approach has allowed us to scale our business, whilst maintaining our commitment for sustainable, high impact and innovative nutrition.”
Tell us more about your approach to sustainability…
“Sustainability has always been a core value at Nourished. We are committed to minimising our environmental impact through various initiatives, including the use of 100% plastic-free, recyclable, and home-compostable packaging. Our on-demand production model reduces waste, as we only produce what is needed, and we don’t allow any single use plastic in our manufacturing processes. Additionally, we source high-quality, sustainable and vegetarian ingredients and continuously seek ways to improve our sustainability practices.”
How do you innovate and stay ahead of industry trends?
“Staying ahead of industry trends requires a proactive approach to research and development. We are committed to closely monitoring consumer feedback, clinical research, and emerging health trends to help inform our product development process. Our team is dedicated to continuous learning and adaptation, allowing us to innovate rapidly and respond to changing market demands in real-time. Thanks to our innovative technology and on-demand production model, we can quickly pivot on the back of new trends and research, to develop and release products in a matter of weeks. This is much faster when compared with traditional manufacturing methods, which often lead to long product development timeframes of several months or even years.”
Would you call yourselves disruptors?
“We have shifted the focus from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach in the nutrition industry by launching the world’s first truly personalised vitamin gummy. By providing tailored nutrition solutions, we address individual needs more effectively, making it easier for people to achieve their health goals. In addition, all of our products are made with natural, vegetarian, sugar-free ingredients, produced in a manufacturing facility without any single-use plastic and packed in entirely plastic-free packaging. This approach is unique in our industry, and we hope it will help to set a new standard for environmentally friendly manufacturing and clean product development going forward.”
Any gamechanging partnerships?
“Our recent partnership with UPSA, as heritage pharmaceutical enterprise, has been particularly significant, facilitating our successful expansion into the European market. Through this collaboration, we have launched a range of high-impact nutrient gummy stacks across thousands of pharmacies in France and Italy, with 4 more EU countries launching later this year. We have also worked closely with Suntory to introduce new product lines tailored to the Japanese market, and our collaboration with Colgate led to the development of NutriStacks – a bespoke line of nutrient gummies designed to support oral health.”
What’s next for the health and wellness industry?
“I believe that personalisation and sustainability are two major trends that will continue to shape the health and wellness industry. Consumers are increasingly seeking products that cater to their unique needs and preferences, and there is a growing demand for eco-friendly solutions. Advances in technology, such as AI and machine learning, will also drive innovation in personalised health and wellness, enabling more precise and effective interventions in the future.”
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to disrupt the health and wellness industry in 24/25?
“My advice would be to stay passionate and be resilient. Identify a unique gap in the market and develop a solution that truly addresses a need. Surround yourself with a talented and dedicated team who share your vision and values and be prepared to face challenges, learn from them, and never give up. Most importantly, stay true to your mission and ensure that your products or services make a positive impact on people’s lives.”
www.get-nourished.com
