This week we speak to Nicola Waters, the Founder of natural supplements brand TAKe Bio Actives. Nicola was inspired to create her range of medicinal mushroom blends after she discovered their health benefits on her personal journey with an autoimmune illness. Nicola is a one-woman band, taking care of everything from packaging and logistics to sales and marketing.
ISB: What was the inspiration behind you founding TAKe Bio Actives?
NW: I founded TAKe Bio Actives because of my own personal health experience. About six years ago I was diagnosed as a celiac, had three small children and was exhausted. My new gluten free diet didn’t deliver in making me feel much better and I was at the point that I would have tried anything to feel good again. I stumbled across research on the benefits of medicinal mushrooms and started adding them to my morning coffee. The benefits were transformational to my health. My friends and family kept asking what had changed. But there was always something missing from the other brands on the market, so I decided to create my own.
ISB: And why focus on medicinal mushrooms as the key ingredient for your products?
NW: There’s a mushroom for everyone! Although all mushrooms are great for your immune and gut health, each mushroom has their own unique benefits. For example, the first mushroom I tested was the Lion’s Mane mushroom which is known as the mushroom for the brain. Its unique compounds have positive effects on our nerves and neurons which helps to optimise our cognition and clears that brain fog. Another example is the Cordyceps mushrooms which are great for increasing our energy and endurance…and also our libido! That’s why we have included the top four most well researched medicinal mushrooms in our range.
ISB: What was the biggest challenge you faced in getting your business off the ground and how did you overcome it?
NW: Finding the right contacts in the industry who knew the best places to source quality ingredients, that could also guide me in regard to industry regulations. It was fairly easy to find different sources of ingredients worldwide but many that weren’t compliant with Australian regulations. Which is why it was great to work with an expert consultant in this space that was able to make that process seamless.
ISB: How do you ensure you are offering the highest-quality ingredients to your consumers?
NW: I worked with a nutritionist who specialises in new product developments and had great connections with TGA approved manufacturers who could source top quality ingredients. That’s why I chose to source mushrooms that had been grown and produced in an FDA approved facility in the USA as their testing could guarantee the potency of the beneficial compounds in their powders.
ISB: How do you see the business developing in the next couple of years?
NW: I originally predicted the majority of our sales would predominantly be online, however, retail sales have been doing really well. I have also experienced a big push from pharmacies to incorporate natural therapies to be used in conjunction with western medicine, to have more of an holistic approach to health. I really look forward to expanding further in that space, too.
ISB: And, finally, what is the #1 piece of advice you’d give to others who dream of starting their own business?
NW: Ask lots of questions! And think of it like it’s your child. It will be the hardest thing you ever do but you wouldn’t have it any other way.
