Launched in 2019 when pharmaceutical management colleagues Milan Herczku and Gergely Pasztor saw a gap in the market for sleep and immune support that fit into consumers’ hectic lifestyles, the startup from Zug, Switzerland, encapsulates two brands focused on distinct areas of health maintenance.
The brands
The first brand, Nottevit, is a natural sleep aid range that aims to revolutionise the way consumers address sleep by emphasising the importance of quality sleep and highlighting how it contributes to overall health.
Herczku explains that through the brand, they aim to educate people on how sleep quality impacts various areas, including skin health, mood, cognitive functions, circulation, weight management, immune system, and digestion.
Explaining the need for sleep supporting products, the co-founder says: “Our body performs all the daily 'maintenance' work at night, while we are asleep. However, these processes only occur if first our cortisol level decreases and, subsequently, we experience the natural sleep cycle with all its positive impact.”
The products in the Nottevit range all behave as ‘dual-action’, with components of valerian and chamomile extract, as well as additional active ingredients to create a range of six products: Beauty Sleep; Quality Sleep; Immuno Sleep; Focus Sleep; Happy Sleep; and Skinny Sleep.
The Skinny Sleep night-time weight management product is the consistent bestseller.
The capsule offers a natural sleep enhancing and night-time weight control formula, containing herbs and high epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) green tea extract.
Herczku says the capsule works to address how low-quality sleep disrupts hormone levels involved in appetite regulation, which can lead to increased food cravings.
Leptin, a hormone responsible for long-term fat metabolism and satiety, decreases while ghrelin, known as the "hunger hormone," increases because of lack of sleep.
This imbalance creates a constant feeling of hunger and encourages overeating – a mechanism the product seeks to address.
The second bestselling product is the mood enhancer sleep aid range, 'Happy Sleep', which contains saffron extract, vitamin B6, and magnesium.
Herczku states: “As the socio-economic outlook brings more insecurity to people’s lives, mood enhancement support is understandably an attractive area which is also difficult to achieve of course without replenishing sleep.”
The second brand, Vegnum, aims to offer a vegan, plant-based range providing fruit and vegetable extracts via capsules and snacks.
The full product range utilises antioxidants found in 30 fruit, vegetable, and herb extracts, and contain 17 vitamins and minerals. The catalogue includes: ‘Multi-D Plus’ for immune support; ‘Enery-D’ for increased energy and immune support, utilising coffee beans, B6, and B12 ; ‘Silver 50+’ for immune support for over 50 year olds; and a ‘Nutri Fruits’ gummies range, one with bacillus subtilis for gut health, and another with added ashwagandha.
Discussing sales of the Vegnum products, Herczku notes trends in products aimed at senior immune support.
He said: “We’re witnessing a surge in sales of our 50+ Silver immune support product that offers cardiovascular health support benefits as well.
“The younger generations might focus less on immune support post-Covid, however, I speculate that beyond a certain age, you are reminded of its importance even in the absence of a dangerous global pandemic.”
Next steps
Gemil sells direct-to-consumers online, while also establishing partnerships with pharmacies, drug stores, health stores, and similar retailers.
Herczku recognising that D2C online sales allow for closer consumer interaction, while offline presence adds credibility, distribution, and convenience.
The company is continuing to tailor their product developments to address specific modern lifestyle needs, planning to incorporate areas such as digestive and cognitive health into the brands and expand the portfolio to include more functional food and drink products that complement the core offerings.
Recently, the company garnered recognition within the industry by being named a NutraIngredients Awards finalist, and the company plans to use the accolade as a launching point for global distribution.