Healthy boost for nutritional products company thanks to cash injection

A health supplement company has expanded its range and conducted valuable research and development after receiving a £35,000 business loan from Finance Yorkshire.

Sheffield-based BetterYou was set up five years ago to capitalise on a gap in the market for innovative health and nutritional products, including transdermal magnesium and sublingual vitamin sprays, for modern customers with busy lifestyles.

The company, which supplies stores including Boots and Holland & Barrett, has seen year-on-year growth of more than 40 per cent and has doubled staff numbers in the last year.

In order to consolidate its success, BetterYou’s founder Andy Thomas and CEO Robin Whitbread turned to Finance Yorkshire.

Robin said: “We are a business that is growing fast but for any expanding company one of the first areas that tends to come under pressure is cashflow. The Finance Yorkshire funding meant we were able to increase stock levels and therefore improve product availability.

“Bringing new products to market is an expensive business and we needed to ensure we had the resources and capacity to do so. The loan helped us increase our range which now includes an additional four product lines, including a vitamin D spray for pregnant women, which was one of the first to market in the world.

“The funding also enabled us to undertake a clinical trial with the University of Cardiff. The study demonstrated that our transdermal magnesium products – which are sprayed directly onto the skin – are more absorbent and effective than products which are administered orally.

“We are also using the loan to enhance our communications and marketing strategy by going to tradeshows to talk directly to customers and those in the industry.

“Finance Yorkshire’s approach was uncomplicated and not a long-winded process full of caveats like some processes can be. We also liked the fact that they are based in Yorkshire and support local businesses in our region. Finance Yorkshire are also happy to work alongside other providers such as banks and we appreciate that spirit of working in partnership.”

Finance Yorkshire Portfolio Manager David Ward said: “Like many companies across the Yorkshire and Humber region, BetterYou is growing quickly and needed to raise additional working capital to maintain that momentum.

“New product development is the lifeblood of businesses like BetterYou which already exports to 15 countries and is now looking to extend its distribution further, both internationally and across the UK.”

Click here to view the BetterYou video.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from Yorkshire Forward’s Single Programme, and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or ring 0845 649 0000

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire