“When we started to develop the products back in the spring 2015, our main goal was to enter the US market, because the US holds the largest military bases in the world,” Martin Holmblad, CEO of Reconpharma, told NutraIngredients-USA.
“Our core audience is soldiers, and I myself was an Iraqi veteran and fought besides both British and American troops,” he added.
Filling in a gap
In a press release announcing its expansion to the US, Holmblad explained that the food being served on the military bases had a focus of protein but lacked the essential vitamins military personnel needed, which pushed him to launch Reconpharma.
"When I was deployed in 2005 I thought a lot about the lack of supplements. I stayed at a base with UK and US troops and you could get a lot of protein powder but the vitamins and minerals were not available," Holmblad said. "Last year I got a chance to start up this company with a goal to create a complete supplement that could fulfil 100 percent of the required daily intake of vitamins and minerals."
The line includes a C-complex with 23 vitamins and six minerals as well as goji berries; a Q-complex with with vitamin B6 and minerals; and a B-complex with potassium and Korean ginseng. “We colored our supplements, so the user knows that he or she has to take all the green pills together with breakfast, and the brown pills 30 minutes before bedtime,” Holmblad said.
Web and brick-and-mortar
The line launched in Denmark in February of this year. “The first month and a half on the Danish market, we managed to get +22 wholesalers, and more are coming as we speak,” he said, adding that the wholesalers are both online and physical stores.
For the US, the company has big plans. “We are going wide out in the US, so you hopefully will find our products in for example Amazon.com and a long list of other webshops,” he said. “Besides that we are pushing our products out to GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Walgreens and a long list of ‘brick and mortar’ stores around the US.”
Holmblad added that the soldier-tailored supplements aren’t just for soldiers. “Besides military personnel, it’s also meant for athletes, policemen, firefighters, and even business men, and all persons with a tough everyday job,” he said.
Whoever buys and takes the supplements, the press release said, will be supporting different veteran projects in the US.