When you think of 3D printing, does food usually come to mind? Probably not. But today’s interview tells another story.
Melissa Snover developed the world’s first FDA- and FSA-approved food printer in 2015. With the goal of offering personalized nutrition, Melissa and her team used 3D printing technology to create custom gummy vitamins in less than five minutes, combing together active ingredients from a range of vitamins, superfoods, and nutrients.
With a multi-pronged marketing approach, Melissa and her team have attracted and retained customers through PR campaigns that have led to them being featured in Vogue, Telegraph, and more.
Allow me to introduce Founder, Melissa Snover…
—
I am the CEO and Founder of Rem3dy Health Ltd, which pioneers personalized solutions across preventative and curative health under the brands Nourished (Personalised Nutrition) and Scripted (Personalised Medicine).
I began my entrepreneurial journey at the age of 23 when I founded a financial business and went on to develop the world’s first and only vegan, allergen-free confectionary in 2010. I then turned my expertise to additive manufacturing and developed and invented the world’s first FDA- and FSA-approved food printer in 2015, which resulted in six patented technologies being protected.
As a busy entrepreneur, I travel all over the world and used to constantly carry around different vitamins and supplements with me, which was extremely inconvenient. On one such occasion, I accidentally dropped my bag of vitamins all over the floor in airport security and had to crawl around in my suit and heels trying to pick them up.
I knew there must be an easier way to take nutrition! I sought to find a way to simplify the way we take vitamins and make the combinations 100% customized to the consumer. Of all the things we personalize, our health and wellness should be top priority!
When we were developing the concept of Nourished, we knew that our goal was to achieve truly personalized nutrition. The traditional manufacturing methods in the industry required hundreds of thousands of the same product to be produced all at once and were not being made with the individual user in mind.
Mainstream manufacturing also created a huge amount of waste and often involved long supply chains, meaning that by the time the end-user was consuming the product, it had significantly reduced efficacy. In contrast, hand production would be too slow for the volume of a successful business.
We examined various other types of manufacturing in order to overcome the limitations currently in the mainstream market. However, as experts in additive food manufacturing, we resolved that this was the most effective and efficient method to create a unique product on demand and in real time.
In order to offer fully personalized options without any limitations, a hybrid manufacturing method had to be developed rather than looking for off-the-shelf solutions. A custom 3D-printed solution was therefore decided upon, combining the ability of choice within the product offering, along with a scalable manufacturing method.
As there wasn’t a 3D printer in existence that could achieve what we needed for the Nourished concept, we started creating our own prototype that would meet our unique requirements. These included being able to make a custom monthly supply of gummy vitamins in less than five minutes and combing any seven active ingredients together from our wide range of vitamins, superfoods, and nutrients.
We also needed the machinery to be easily operated and quick to build to allow our operation to run seamlessly and our business to scale exponentially.
We use a multi-pronged marketing approach to reach our consumer demographic. Our PR campaigns have been extremely successful due to our innovative offering, as well as being a female-founded tech start-up, and we have secured coverage in top-tier media such as the Financial Times, Stylist, Telegraph, Vogue etc.
We also have an aggressive online marketing strategy, as well as highly effective out-of-home activity, which has included ads in the London Tube, the Birmingham Eye, and live sampling and 3D printing demonstrations at events such as Goodwood Speed Festival.
As our product is so unique, we initially had a challenge in educating consumers on why personalized nutrition was so important and how 3D printing allowed us to achieve that. We now find that our existing customers are our best salespeople, and a significant amount of our sales can be attributed to word of mouth and customer testimonials.
2023 is set to be an incredibly busy year for Nourished. Last year we saw a range of new product launches, such as our super-strength Vitamin D ingredient (offering five times our original Vitamin D dose) and a PCOS Relief Stack to support women with symptoms of PCOS, including acne, weight gain, hair growth, and mood fluctuations.
We also saw partnerships with Colgate and the launch of a range of NutriStacks to help better oral health, which launched around the same time as our Sleep Stack.
A lot has gone on, and we’re excited for another year of working hard to expand our offering and support as many people as possible on their health journeys. This will involve working on some new and innovative product launches, collaborating with industry-leading corporations, and expanding Nourished into mainland Europe and East Asia, expanding our customer base further internationally. Watch this space!
As an entrepreneur, there will always be factors you cannot control when starting your business. Resilience to these is such an important aspect of running a business. Ensuring you have a trusted and passionate team around you who share your vision will allow you to overcome challenges and find solutions that lead to success.
Commit your time and efforts to establishing your brand and compile data so you know exactly what your customers want. It is important to create a business that delivers a clear benefit to the end consumer, rather than just developing a product that you think is cool.
I also think networking is hugely important for advancing your career in business. I find it incredibly interesting speaking to other people in my field at events across the country and abroad, to learn how they face challenges and grow their businesses.
Find out more about Nourished and take our short quiz to find out which bespoke blend of active ingredients is recommended for you at www.get-nourished.com.
My mother in law loves to sew.
A few years ago she asked me how to set up an online store.
She wanted to sell fancy throw pillows she was making.
I gave her very basic steps. Enough to get started (I don't know much about ecom).
A few weeks later she showed me her site. It…
Whatever your 2024 goals, hopes, and dreams are.
I hope you make it.
Everyone wants “yes.”
But they don’t wanna pay the price.
100 Nos is the price of one yes.
You can get as many as yeses as you damn well please as long as you’re willing to pay the price.
I was sad to learn that Charlie Munger died today at age 99.
What a life.
He would likely roll his eyes and argue that none of us should be too surprised, based on the actuarial tables, but we’ve lost one of the 20th century’s greatest investors and businessmen.
Chris and I…
