When athlete Paula Radcliffe went for a run through the Lincolnshire countryside, she was amazed to spot a small business that changed her life.
The one-time world record holder for the women’s marathon has taken a daily supplement called Immufix for more than quarter of a century, and the company’s home is at the King Street Industrial Estate, Langtoft.
Paula and her husband, Gary Lough, who have lived in Monaco for many years, were staying with friends Phillippa and James Spilsbury, whose home is in West Deeping.
Paula Radcliffe with Immufix. Photo: Supplied
Phillippa said: “When Paula returned from her run she said, ‘You’ll not believe it, but the drink I used to help my marathon performance is made about half a mile from your house’.
“We got talking about it, and Paula suggested I should try it too, as it might help my Crohn’s disease. It proved to be a game-changer for me.”
Paula has been taking Immufix since about 2002. Following a tough training regime for the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games, she fell ill and was later diagnosed with post-viral fatigue.
Heptathlete Denise Lewis introduced Paula to Brian Welsby, a biochemist who had come up with the Immufix formula as a supplement to support the body’s immune system.
Phillippa and James Spilsbury, of Immufix. Photo: Supplied
From that meeting, Brian went on to advise Paula on all her training and protein drinks, and Paula has taken a scoop of Immufix powder morning and night, mixed into a glass of water.
It is designed to provide vitamins A through to K, folic acid, and the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, selenium and more. The idea behind it is to reduce fatigue and speed up recovery.
Paula is convinced it has supported her health and athletic training over the years.
So convinced, earlier this year she, Gary, Phillippa and James, and two other mutual friends, Mark and Caroline Braid, purchased the business and have relaunched Immufix with a new website and packaging.
Speaking to LincsOnline about what motivated them to buy a business, Paula said: “When I first started taking Immufix, it seemed to work really well for me and I was back at the European Cross Country Championships by the end of that year.”
“I started to recommend Immufix to other people, including my mum, who was having cancer treatment, and my daughter, who also went through chemotherapy.”
Six years ago, Paula’s daughter, then aged 13, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and recovered, following medical treatment.
It was only after Phillippa and James left Monaco to live in West Deeping that Paula became aware of the proximity of their new home to the ‘home of Immufix’.
“Gary and I had thought the area around King Street looked familiar when we went through it in the car,” said Paula.
“It’s near a crossroads and I suddenly realised it was a place I had been to before, and that this was where I had been ordering my Immufix from.”
The company they bought sells a number of sport nutrition products, including energy drinks and endurance event meals.
But the new directors are making Immufix their immediate focus, relaunching the product with a new website, immufix.com, and promotional videos by Paula and husband Gary. They sell a month’s supply of Immufix for £65, with a 20% discount for a three-month order.
Paula says she is a fan of the vanilla flavour, and her husband, himself a former middle distance runner who has coached Mo Farah, prefers the orange. Their 15-year-old son also takes it daily.
“I’ve introduced a lot of people to it, particularly during covid,” said Paula. “But there is huge potential for it to be known more widely.
“It contains nothing your body would consider to be ‘waste’ and there is nothing in it that isn’t natural. Your body recognises it as ‘food’.
“Everyone takes it in my family and that’s why I’m passionate about it. I feel extremely fortunate that Brian found me, through Denise.”