The brand, called d.velop, is touted as a “holistic immunity solution.” The supplement is based on the calcifediol form of the ingredient. Calcifediol is also known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, which is the form created in the liver from other sources of vitamin D. Supplementing with this form directly is claimed by the company to be three times more effective at achieving optimum blood levels of vitamin D that are the other forms of the vitamin commonly sold as supplements.
In addition to the supplement itself, the new launch is being offered with a home testing kit and access to digital support.
Vitamin D has gotten a lot of attention recently for its demonstrated effects in helping individuals avoid COVID-19 infections in the first place and weather them better if they are infected. Most of the support for this has come from large scale observational studies carried out in various regions since the start of the pandemic. Now that various jurisdictions are starting to reopen to normal commerce, the new product can help consumers participate again in open social life with full confidence, said Hologram CEO Ian Brady.
“We chose to focus our first brand and product on immunity because we wanted to give people a tool to feel more confident about their health as they step back into the world,” Brady said.
New division based on earlier acquisition
Brady came on board at DSM when it acquired his previous start up, called AVA, which is a digital personalized nutrition platform. Brady founded AVA after his wife suffered her third bout of gestational diabetes with the birth of the couple’s third child.
“She felt very isolated. There weren’t a lot of answers out there, and I started to think long term about how to stop this from happening again. I was surprised by the lack of technology,” he said.
DSM acquired AVA for an undisclosed amount in late 2019. That acquisition followed a research partnership that DSM concluded in 2018 with testing company Wellmetrix to look into testing technologies and platforms as the large ingredient supplier moves steadily into personalized nutrition.