One to Watch!
Three reasons you should be watching this company
1. The health & nutrition industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in developed markets
2. Evermore taps into the most important trends in this space, leveraging technology and transparency
3. Their founder has an engaged base of followers and publicly advocates healthy living
Vital Statistics
- Company: Evermore Health
- What it does, in a sentence: Evermore is a direct-to-consumer brand in the health & nutrition sector
- Founded: London, early 2016
- Founder/s: Alessandra Sollberger
- Size of team: 6-10
- Your name and role: Alessandra Sollberger, Founder & CEO
The need to know
What problem are you trying to solve?
At Evermore, we want to push forward the positive change that is starting to happen in the health & nutrition industry. Do you know where the products you buy come from, and what’s inside them? We believe it’s your right to understand it, so we can tell you where all our ingredients are sourced from and what’s the research behind their benefits.
Alongside that, we support causes related to where our products come from. For example, each of our superfood algae collections prevents 10 plastic bags from entering the ocean.
We also leverage technology, because nutrition isn’t one-size-fits-all. One of our upcoming lines of supplements will recommend the right products based on your needs and goals.
How big is the market – and how much of it do you think you can own?
The top five UK supplement companies have combined annual sales of £7.5bn. In the US, that number is $30bn across the main five incumbents.
We’re coming into the market with a brand that represents the values that are becoming more important and that are growing the overall sector. Capturing a small part of the local market is a very good result, but we’re also planning our international expansion.
How do you make money?
Our business model is based on e-commerce and subscription. We’re mainly direct-to-consumer, which allows us to have constant interactions with our clients.
Who’s on your team that makes you think you can do this?
We’re a team of nutritionists, technologists and marketers. To me, the most important thing is that we’re all truly passionate about changing our sector and that everybody thinks about the different aspects of our business, rather than working with a narrower perspective.
Who’s bankrolling you?
We have a set of experienced angels and funds behind the company. That’s also been very useful in terms of smart opinions on our strategy.
What advice would you give other entrepreneurs trying to secure that kind of finance?
To prepare yourself well, always think through all the areas which relate to your business – especially the ones you’re not comfortable with. Start your discussions by asking for advice and by building a relationship.
You should be able to go into detail on the practical as much as on the visionary and longer-term aspects of your company.
What do you believe the key to growing this business is?
At the end of the day, it comes down to delivering superior products through an incredible customer experience. That includes a smoother service and a more engaging relationship with the brand.
What metrics do you look at every day?
Beyond sales, I think it’s important to look at the actual engagement and referral rate of your customers. That’s how you can tell early on if they love or just like what you’re doing – and when you’re starting out, it’s all about them obsessing over your products.
What’s been the most unexpectedly valuable lesson you’ve learnt so far?
Our customer demographics! It can be tricky because you need to be very targeted, but at the same time you have to be open-minded and find the right fit. I’ve also learned the importance of continuously breaking down our main goals into measurable, shorter-term tactics.
What’s been your biggest mistake so far?
Never underestimate timing. Certain products have a complex supply chain and can create bottlenecks, so it’s important to create some buffer around deadlines. We wanted to take a lot to the market at once, but now I’d rather start testing as early as possible with simpler versions of our products and services, then bring more to the market based on the feedback and the learnings coming in.
What do you think is on the horizon for your industry in the year ahead?
The move towards more natural and genuine products is ongoing. There’s so much happening in the health & nutrition industry. I think we’ll see customers becoming increasingly aware of what’s actually right for them and making wellness an evermore (pun intended) important part of their life.
Which London start-up/s are you watching, and why?
I love biotechnology and find it particularly interesting at the intersection of computer science, because I think it will revolutionise the access and scale of scientific research.
In the long term, it will have an incredible impact on industries like ours. Synthace, a fast-growing biotech start-up in which I’m an angel investor, has created an operating system for biology which makes research easily repeatable and shareable. It links physical lab equipment to digital protocols and processes.
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