Editor's Spotlight: Startup Focus
UK-based vegan gummy supplements startup expands overseas
Founded by John Rushton and Abdul Sharief, Vegums was created to address the vitamin and mineral deficiencies most commonly experienced by those following vegan and plant-based lifestyles who are committed to sustainability and animal welfare.
“It can be difficult to get sufficient essential vitamins such as B12, D, B6, selenium, and Iodine from non-animal diets. This leads to the potential for serious health problems such as anaemia, tiredness, depression, and poor metabolism," explains Rushton. "As pharmacists, Abdul and I just couldn’t find vitamins for our families that were committed to the true vegan cause, so we created one!”
“We saw the meteoric rise of veganism as well as plant-based diets coupled with the huge concern about the planet and animal welfare and decided there was a great opportunity. We set about using our health, wellness, and pharmacy skills to design vitamins and supplements that have completely vegan ingredients.
“The vegan diet can mean that people become deficient in certain nutrients which in turn can lead to health issues, so we adjusted levels to compensate for this.”
Certified by the Vegan Society, Vegums vitamin gummies utilise citrus peel as a gelling agent as opposed to animal-based gelatin. Natural colours and flavours are always employed and where a touch of sweetness is required, it is with unrefined cane sugar to avoid the use of bonemeal common in refining.
“We also went the tasty gummy route – why not make vitamins pleasant to take and digest?,” said Rushton. “And, for the adults as well as the kids, we’ve created bear families.”
The Vegums range includes: a multivitamin, with vitamins B12, B6, and D3 plus folic acid, selenium, and iodine; a fish-free omega-3, from sustainably sourced marine algae; and a vegan ferrous iron.
Sharief says the brand has built sustainability into the framework of the brand.
“All Vegums ingredients have been traced back to their source to ensure that no animal products were used at any stage. Additionally, unlike many vegan competitors, we’ve abandoned plastic packaging. All Vegums products come in biodegradable cellulose and recycled cardboard, designed to be stored in our custom reusable tin.
"We will not contribute to landfill waste. Importantly, in the UK, Vegums has achieved carbon-negative status; we aim to do the same in the U.S. We know it’s a big place, but we are ready for it and by all accounts, the vegan population is ready for our products.”
Additionally, for every review on TrustPilot, the brand has partnered with MoreTrees to plant trees in local communities, helping improve opportunities for work and to offset the CO2 the business emits. To date, the brand has planted trees for local and tribal communities in Madagascar, for local farmers in Haiti, and with the Kijabe Forest Trust in Kenya.
