For now, the company is mostly selling its products online through its website but has also done deals with \u201cselective, high-end\u201d retailers such as the Dean hotel and Lotts & Co in Dublin. The business partners are working towards their goal of landing a big retailer this year and ultimately would like to see their product stocked on airlines and in hotels.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be in places where supplements aren\u2019t traditionally found, making them convenient,\u201d Morgan said. <\/p>\n
Simmonds and Morgan are among a growing cohort of Irish entrepreneurs looking to take a bite out of the global food supplements market, which, according to Grand View Research, was worth close to $193 billion last year and is projected to reach more than $414 billion by 2033.<\/p>\n
Newcomers on the Irish supplements scene include Sisterly<\/a>, a Dublin-based start-up; Sentro Labs, which was set up by Elaine and Robert Ellis; FemmeBiome, a University College Cork spinout; and Gigi, founded by the nutritionists Lisa Hughes and Jennie Haire in 2023.<\/p>\n Irish health food companies are getting in on the act, too. The Valeo Foods-owned Kelkin, known for its nut butter and rice cakes, has launched a vitamin C range. Gary Lavin\u2019s VitHit started as a soft drinks company but has extended its range to include effervescent multivitamin powders. <\/p>\n Latest accounts from the Irish operations of Holland & Barrett, the health food store, give an indication of how interest in supplements and health food generally is growing. Revenues at its Irish business rose by \u20ac10 million last year to \u20ac66 million. It opened seven new stores and closed two. <\/p>\n Gerry Finn, a chemist and microbiologist, who set up his company Beeline Healthcare in 1988 \u2014 before the Go Fuel Yourself founders were even born \u2014 said the Covid-19 pandemic was a real driver of the market.<\/p>\n Vogue Williams is among the famous faces supporting Go Fuel Yourself<\/p>\n JEFF SPICER\/BFC\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n \u201cCovid changed things enormously in 2020,\u201d Finn said. \u201cPeople got a hell of a fright and began to realise [the importance of protecting and boosting] their immune system.\u201d<\/p>\n Ohan Yergainharsian, founder of Sona Nutrition, a Tallaght-based company that launched its first supplement in 1987, also saw an uptick in sales after Covid. <\/p>\n \u201cCovid accelerated the recognition dramatically that there was a role for nutrition in maintaining health,\u201d Yergainharsian said. This led to professionals advocating for supplements such as vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc, he added. <\/p>\n A survey carried out by Safefood in 2022 found that nearly half of all adults and children in Northern Ireland took vitamin supplements. A 2018 survey by the Irish Health Trade Association, a representative body, found that 71 per cent of adults took supplements all year round. <\/p>\n An increasing interest in women\u2019s health and gut health has also driven the market here and abroad. <\/p>\n Gigi\u2019s first product, which was launched last year, is a premenstrual syndrome and hormone balance blend. FemmeBiome is developing probiotics (live bacteria) for reducing menopause symptoms<\/a>. <\/p>\n The food supplements industry could also be going the way of the cosmetics industry, which in recent years has seen revenues and profits of international companies dented by independent and smaller brands, often associated with celebrities<\/a>, such as Rihanna\u2019s Fenty Beauty and Selena Gomez\u2019s Rare Beauty. <\/p>\n Last week the food group Nestl\u00e9 announced that it was launching a review of its vitamins business, which has been underperforming despite having $1.26 billion in annual sales. Among Nestl\u00e9\u2019s food supplement brands are Minami and Solgar. The review could lead to a sale. <\/p>\n Nonetheless, Irish brands face stiff competition from much bigger international players with hefty marketing budgets. <\/p>\n Well-known names in the space include Centrum, the multivitamin brand owned by Haleon<\/a>, a British multinational healthcare company; Berocca, owned by the German pharmaceutical group Bayer; and Seven Seas, owned by the $370 billion Procter & Gamble. <\/p>\n Even David Beckham, the former England football captain, has got in on the act, launching IM8, a nutrition supplements brand, last year. <\/p>\n Darragh Hammond, founder and director of Naturalife Health, which developed and owns the Cleanmarine, One Nutrition and Irish Botanica food supplement brands, said Ireland was not the only country breeding new companies in this space. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of new entrants to the sector globally as consumer interest in supplements increases. Ireland is not unique here,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n However, Hammond added that the influx of brands into the market was presenting \u201ca challenge for all players and for consumers choosing between brands\u201d. <\/p>\n Naturalife sells its products throughout the European Union and the UK. Most Irish companies will look to grow their business abroad but some have bypassed the UK market in favour of the Continent and the Middle East. <\/p>\n Sona has an international footprint, selling in South Korea, China and the Middle East. The company also services \u201ccertain European markets\u201d but avoids the UK. <\/p>\n \u201cThe model we have doesn\u2019t suit the UK market on the basis it takes a \u2018pile them high, sell them cheap\u2019 approach,\u201d Yergainharsian said. <\/p>\n Others such as Galway Natural Health Sales, which is behind the hugely popular Revive Active brand, have tackled the UK market head-on. <\/p>\n Cork-based Solvotrin, which is run by Pat O\u2019Flynn and sells the Active range of vitamin supplements, exports to 15 markets, including the UK and China. In March it signed a distribution deal for the US. <\/p>\n Well-known business people have been lining up to invest in this burgeoning sector.<\/p>\n Solvotrin has a who\u2019s who of backers, including the entrepreneurs Anne Heraty, Stephen Vernon and Dan Kiely, and the Zeus Packaging founder Brian O\u2019Sullivan and Alan Merriman\u2019s Elkstone Ventures<\/a>. <\/p>\n This year Jack Pierse, the Wayflyer co-founder, invested in Onform, a new food supplement business that is selling through a direct-to-consumer subscription model.<\/p>\n Sisterly, set up by friends Louise O\u2019Riordan, Jennifer O\u2019Connell and Aoife Matthews in Dublin, has raised \u20ac2 million in funding<\/p>\n Enterprise Ireland has also rowed in behind some start-ups, including Solvotrin and Sisterly, a Dublin-based company set up by three female friends \u2014 a banker, barrister and luxury brand developer. The state agency chipped in to a \u20ac2 million fundraising round completed by Sisterly last year. <\/p>\n Private equity companies have approached enterprises such as Sona and Beeline to invest but so far the veteran founders have turned down any approaches. <\/p>\n Others have been more successful. In 2022, Revive Active announced a \u20ac12.5 million minority equity investment from BGF, a private equity fund backed by Barclays Bank and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which valued the company at \u20ac40 million at the time. <\/p>\n The microbiologist Barry Kiely, meanwhile, sold PrecisionBiotics, his University College Cork spinout, for \u20ac80 million to Novozymes in 2020 and has since left the company.<\/p>\n The firm, which is now part of the Novo Nordisk<\/a> group, sells to more than 26 countries internationally through a distributor model and is the number one probiotic sold in France, Belgium and Mexico.<\/p>\n Being acquired by Novozymes, which later merged with Chr Hansen, part of the Novo Nordisk group, and rebranded as Novonesis, has been hugely beneficial, according to Colm O\u2019Sullivan, head of consumer health at Novonesis Ireland.<\/p>\n \u201cSince that merger we have access to lots more science. It gives us lots of new products in the potential pipeline.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all nutritionists agree on the efficacy of food supplements and there is even some disagreement within the industry itself as to whether customers are consuming supplements that are right for them. <\/p>\n Oonagh O\u2019Hagan, managing director of Meaghers Pharmacy and the distributor of Symprove, a water-based food supplement for gut health, said she championed supplements only when she knew \u201cwhere the products are being sourced from\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cNot all supplements are the same. Some supplements contain ingredients that come from the petrochemical industry,\u201d said O\u2019Hagan, who came across the UK-manufactured Symprove as part of her irritable bowel syndrome journey. She began selling it in her pharmacies before becoming the distribution agent for Ireland after Brexit. <\/p>\n Yergainharsian said he opted to sell his brands in pharmacies and health food stores only because consumers \u201cneed some advice and handholding\u201d, to advise them on what supplements were suited to them. <\/p>\n Despite the differences in opinions on supplements, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, which regulates most of the industry here, says it is tightly regulated, especially by the European Union, which permits only certain ingredients within supplements.<\/p>\n For example, supplements containing the ephedra herb, an evergreen shrub that has been used in China and India, are banned. <\/p>\n O\u2019Sullivan said: \u201cRegulation in Ireland is probably one of the strictest in Europe, and consumers can be sure they are getting products of high quality.\u201d<\/p>\n Under European regulations, all vitamin and mineral supplements must have \u201cfood supplement\u201d on the label. The labels must also point out what is recommended for daily consumption and a statement that food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet, among other things.<\/p>\n Makers cannot claim that the supplement prevents, treats or cures any diseases. The EU has a register for all the claims that companies can make, and if you want to make a new claim, you must apply to the European Food Safety Authority. <\/p>\n The Irish Health Trade Association is not overly enamoured with some regulations. <\/p>\n Sukh Gill, secretary-general of the association, said: \u201cDecades-old EU regulation has created a dissonance between information that consumers can now freely find on the web versus a market that has been gagged. Restrictions on commercial communication under outdated EU rules have failed both consumers and the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n Companies that fail to comply can face product withdrawals and recalls, and even prosecution, though that is rare. <\/p>\n One emerging issue is how products are advertised on social media. New brands in particular are enlisting celebrities to promote their wares. <\/p>\n Rugby star Robbie Henshaw is brand ambassador for Aya Supplements<\/p>\n LEON FARRELL\/PHOTOCALL IRELAND<\/p>\n The rugby player Robbie Henshaw<\/a>, who has 138,000 Instagram followers, is among the ambassadors of Aya Supplements, a multivitamin brand made by the publicly listed Irish company Uniphar. Trisha Lewis, a health influencer (273,000 followers), works with Symprove. Jess Redden, a pharmacist and influencer (101,000 followers) promotes Zenflore, which is in the PrecisionBiotics stable of gastrointestinal supplement brands. The television presenter Lorraine Keane (55,000 followers) works with Cleanmarine. <\/p>\n Orla Twomey, chief executive of the Advertising Standards Authority, said that \u201call advertisements must comply with rules not to mislead or offend\u201d. <\/p>\n The authority is investigating complaints around claims made in food supplements advertisements by influencers, according to Twomey, but she would not disclose which companies they were. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile we haven\u2019t had a huge number of complaints, we do investigate when a health or nutrition claim is being made. We check whether it\u2019s an authorised claim,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n Oonagh O\u2019Hagan said she would like to see more transparency around where supplements were manufactured. <\/p>\n The vast majority of Irish-owned supplements companies do not manufacture the products themselves. Instead, they use contract manufacturers, which tend to be based in the UK, continental Europe and the US. In Ireland, Clare-based ABC Nutritionals is a contract manufacturer and formulation company. It has a 75,000 sq ft production facility in Cratloemoyle. <\/p>\n DCC plc\u2019s healthcare division was another contract manufacturer, operating seven facilities in Britain and the US. The Irish company sold the business to Investindustrial, an investment group, for \u20ac1.22 billion in April. Ahead of that sale it acquired Richard Bittner, an Austrian-based contract manufacturer of food supplements.<\/p>\n Beeline used to manufacture products in Ireland but Gerry Finn said the company found it \u201cincreasingly difficult\u201d to get the right staff during the Celtic tiger so moved manufacturing to mainland Europe. <\/p>\n Beeline sells its products to health stores, pharmacies and some of Ireland\u2019s biggest supermarket chains, including Dunnes Stores and SuperValu, through a mixture of direct sales and distribution channels. Some supermarkets such as Tesco will deal only with distributors, however.<\/p>\n Distribution companies in the market include Uniphar; the Dole plc-owned Wholefoods; Pharmed, which has been chaired by Mary Harney, the former tanaiste; and United Drug. <\/p>\n Lorraine Keane, the TV presenter, is a brand ambassador for Cleanmarine<\/p>\n MARK STEDMAN<\/p>\n Some of those companies have launched their own brands. In 2019, Uniphar launched Aya Supplements. Wholefoods owns Nutri Nua, a vitamins brand. The Irish distribution company Clonmel Healthcare owns Clonfolic, a folic acid supplement.<\/p>\n The costs of the food supplement brands will vary hugely, with those found in supermarkets tending to be on the more affordable side. Increasingly, newer brands are on the expensive side. A four-week supply of Symprove will cost just under \u20ac100, or customers can sign up to a subscription plan for just under \u20ac50 a month. A month\u2019s supply of Revive Active can cost up to \u20ac50. <\/p>\n The Irish Health Trade Association has called for a reduction in the VAT rate to help reduce costs. For more than 40 years the market enjoyed a 0 per cent VAT rate. That was increased, initially, to 13.5 per cent in 2020 and then to the full rate of 23 per cent. <\/p>\n There are some exceptions, such as folic acid, which is regulated by the Health Products Regulatory Authority and has a zero VAT rate. <\/p>\n \u201cOur industry contributes to a health culture that values the role of nutrition to health. This was critical during Covid with vitamin D. However, the recent VAT hikes and ratcheting of EU regulation works against this,\u201d Sukh Gill said. <\/p>\n New entrants to the market, it seems, are not being put off by either VAT or regulation. <\/p>\n Guide to Irish food supplement companies<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 Set up in 2011, Galway-based Revive Active<\/b> is perhaps the biggest Irish vitamin supplements provider. It sells about 16 million sachets a year, including its Zest Active and Meno Active ranges. Pre-tax profits came in at \u20ac3.2 million in 2023. ![\"Vogue](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/3d006b7c-28ab-41cb-9102-2db83bfc5975.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/2e209e6c-22c6-4f84-8818-2d3a51a0c770.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Robbie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/891aac6c-7f06-42d2-be57-220a766cef45.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lorraine](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/71b26009-2297-4efe-b18a-6def45dd2f98.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u2022 Now more than 40 years in business, Sona Nutrition<\/b> is based in Tallaght, Dublin. The company was founded and is still run by Ohan Yergainharsian. It has 140 products in its range and had a profit of \u20ac3.7 million in 2023.
\u2022 Dublin-based Affirm Health<\/b> was set up by Graham Stafford in 2016 and has launched its first product, Proceive, a fertility and pregnancy supplement. It had a profit of \u20ac498,000 in 2023.
\u2022 Laura Dowling, aka the Fabulous Pharmacist, owns Fabu<\/b>, a range of nutritional supplements including Fabu Shrooms. Her company, Peacetree, recorded a profit of more than \u20ac886,000 in 2023.
\u2022 The nutritionists Lisa Hughes and Jennie Haire co-founded Gigi <\/b>in 2023, which has launched its first product, a premenstrual syndrome and hormone balance blend, now stocked in Boots. The company is raising \u20ac1 million to launch in the UK.
\u2022 FemmeBiome <\/b>is a UCC spinout that is developing probiotics (live bacteria)<\/a> for reducing menopause symptoms. It expects to bring its products to market next year.
\u2022 Nua Fertility <\/b>was set up by Deborah Brock in 2017, who worked with APC Microbiome Ireland in Cork to develop a gut health supplement that is aimed at boosting fertility.
\u2022 Clondalkin-based Beeline Healthcare<\/b> has been running for nearly four decades. Set up by Gerry Finn, the company supplies to all big supermarkets. Latest accounts for 2023 show it had a profit of \u20ac84,000.
\u2022 Cork-headquartered Solvotrin Therapeutics<\/b>, set up in 2012, sells a range of oral supplements such as Active Iron, Active Folic and Active Immune. Latest figures show it had losses of nearly \u20ac1.89 million in 2023.
\u2022 Founded by Amy O\u2019Flaherty and Fergus Kerrigan in 2020, Ethos <\/b>sells supplements, tees and topicals, and is sold in 300 stores across Ireland, the UK, Spain and Malta.
\u2022 The maker of Zincuflex and Zerochol, PPC <\/b>is a second-generation Galway family business, set up by Pat and Phil Curran in 1992. The company had a loss of just under \u20ac38,000 in 2023.
\u2022 Cork-based PrecisionBiotics <\/b>was founded by the microbiologist Barry Kiely and is now ultimately owned by the Danish group Novo Nordisk. Latest accounts for 2023 show it had revenues of almost \u20ac24.5 million and a pre-tax profit of \u20ac15.8 million.
\u2022 The Wicklow company Naturalife Health<\/b> sells products such as Udo\u2019s Choice and Cleanmarine. The company was founded by Darragh Hammond and Dominic Galvin in 1997. It had a profit of \u20ac1.33 million last year and employed 44 people.
\u2022 Sisterly <\/b>is a Dublin-based company founded by friends Aoife Matthews, Jennifer O\u2019Connell and Louise O\u2019Riordan. It sells the Elevator nutritional supplement.
\u2022 LLR G5<\/b> is a Mayo-based maker of food supplements and cosmetics. The company was set up in 1999 and most of its sales are in export markets such as France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain.
\u2022 The Kinsale-based company Wild Atlantic Health<\/b> was founded in 2019 by Jonathan Amm. It develops home testing kits for nutritional deficiencies and sells a range of supplements.
\u2022 Bandon-based Summit NutriHealth<\/b> was set up in 2016 by Mark Clifford and Paula Gaynor. It sells Somega, a brand of food supplements sold in liquid and drops form.
\u2022 Doireann O\u2019Leary, the Cork-based medical doctor and influencer, has her own range of vitamin supplements, selling under the Supplements Made Simple<\/b> brand.
\u2022 Sentro Labs<\/b> was set up by the husband-and-wife team Elaine and Robert Ellis in 2022 after they returned from living in Australia. It launched its first stress and sleep complex, Equilibrium, last year and sells supplements aimed at both men and women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marc Simmonds and Paddy Morgan came to an inflection point in their start-up journey this year. The pair…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4318],"tags":[105,4434,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-297360","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114928413921146077","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}