Partner Article

Local Entrepreneur Supported by Apprentice Winner and Drs for her New Vitamin Brand

A businesswoman from Eastburn, West Yorkshire who’s has struggled with anxiety, anemia and seasonal affective disorder over the years is celebrating the launch of her new business, Vigor Vitamins Limited, a pioneering supplement company that's created a UK first product.

Launching locally with an event in Skipton, speakers including Dr Will Dawson (ex-GP and proactive health advocate), Rachel Woolford (Apprentice 2024 winner), and other health and wellness experts supported 41 year old Rachel Beck as she brought this to market.

This journey started for Rachel, founder of Vigor Vitamins (www.vigorvitamins.co.uk) when she didn’t get the job she applied for at a supplement manufacturing business, following a corporate career in sales and management.. She, however, walked away with something much more valuable. After presenting her vision for products, branding and leadership during the interview process, the company told her she was much more suited to running her own business, not working for them, and instead offered to help formulate products with her, combining Rachel's fresh perspective as a 40-year-old woman trying to demystify the supplement industry with their 40 years of manufacturing experience.

Rachel is now on a mission to help busy women aged 35 and upwards navigate the overwhelming supplement market with products that are pure, effective, and honest - manufactured right here in Yorkshire with no fillers, additives, or planet-destroying packaging and are proudly compliant with UK quality standards. She has created a unique multivitamin containing all 13 essential vitamins, plus Choline for brain function and Inositol for hormone regulation - specifically formulated for women approaching perimenopause and menopause. Rachel partners with many other local high-quality, customer-focused businesses across Yorkshire including salons, beauticians, aestheticians, nutritionists, gyms, osteopaths, and holistic therapists who put women's wellness at the forefront of their offering.

She's now launched Vigor Collagen - the UK's first pure blend combining Marine and Bovine collagen together, unflavoured and free from additives, so women can add it to anything and control their own dosage. The differentiator of this product is Rachel and her team has blended Bovine and Marine to create a combined product -rather than making customers choose between the benefits of each.

In her commitment to being an eco conscious founder, Rachel is also the first in the UK to use Biophotonic glass bottles which protects the product from harmful UV rays, allowing customers to keep their vitamins out on the counter without them spoiling, and working as a reminder to take them. With all elements of production done in the UK, the bottles also retain biophotons, and consuming more biophotons is linked to reduced disease and ageing.

Rachel's personal journey has shaped her business philosophy. Having battled severe anxiety in her 20s - refusing to simply "live with it" or turn to antidepressants she instead worked to overcome it and is passionate about the importance of addressing root causes rather than simply dealing with the symptoms.

Rachel said: “After struggling with my mental and physical health for so long, I wanted a multivitamin that would provide a complete nutritional insurance policy, when I couldn’t find one already out there, I knew I had to make one myself and in doing so, make supplements an easy and transparent offering.”

“I’m here to help cut through the confusion and false promises of the wellness industry and supply products that are the first of their kind in the UK. 87% of the women in my initial study group said they weren't sure if their supplements actually worked or were doing good for them. If you're paying monthly for products, you should be confident they're effective and high quality. But we're being sold on promises of quick fixes, not quality."

After leaving her corporate role, Rachel worked with the manufacturing business to develop her specification from the ground up - examining which ingredients were needed, what actually works, which format delivers vitamins effectively into our bodies, what absorbs well, and which ingredients are genuinely high quality.

"I've always believed business can be honest, ethical and moral," Rachel said. "I've struggled working for others when our morals didn't align. I lead with product, not profit. I ask questions like: Why do we add fillers and additives? Do tablets actually work? Why would we put that in there? Can't that be better quality?"

The loss of her father six years ago, who worked in jobs he didn't like while waiting to retire, only to be diagnosed with a brain tumour a year later, reinforced her determination to live life to the fullest and put herself out there- both in her professional and personal life.

"I vowed I'd never live like that," Rachel shared. "I was a people pleaser, bouncing from job to job. The last couple of years have been a massive development opportunity - working out my business, developing my skills, believing in myself has given me purpose. My business has saved me. I always believed having morals and being nice in business was possible... now I know it is!"

You can follow the brand via Instagram, Facebook and Youtube via ukvigorvitamins

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .