While the dual assault of Brexit and Covid has left many businesses struggling to survive and expansion plans a pipe dream, for others, rapid growth can still be a reality even in the most difficult of times. British biotech, Symprove, a probiotic food supplement is a case in point having enjoyed its most fruitful period of trading to date.
As momentum around proactive heath management, accelerated under Covid, customers flocked online to buy the live bacteria product which can support general gut health and well-being and whose commercial fruition has aligned with a health and wellness market valued at US$ 3.31 Billion in 2020.
Manufactured at the company’s long-term base of Sands Business Centre, near Farnham in Surrey, the product can deliver live bacteria straight to the gut which in turn, is able to thrive in this notoriously harsh and acidic environment. Last year – the business recorded a 50% growth helping to cement its status as a disruptor of today’s global £44 billion probiotic supplement industry.
An intense period of fast commercialisation culminated with a recent deal with private equity firm, bd-capital which impressed by the loyal community of customers chose Symprove as its debut investment and acquired a major stake. This came on the back of a period of sustained growth which is recognised this month in the fifth annual FT 1000 ranking, published by the Financial Times recognising the European companies who have achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2016 and 2019.
CEO Mike Butler said. “Symprove is a product that makes a real difference to our customers lives. This gives us the strongest possible marketing, as our customers tell their stories to their friends and families and recommend Symprove to people they think will benefit.”
The effects of the liquid were first apparent some 35 years ago when Symprove founder and former farmer Barry Smith, used it to improve the nutritional quality of his animal feed. He noticed the benefit it had on the health of his livestock, which initiated a long and determined mission to commercialise the product for human consumption, including a number of clinical trials with institutions such as King’s College in London.
“Whist we knew that Symprove was benefitting young stock on farm it was a step change to take the technology to people,” said Barry Smith.
“The concept of maintaining gut health was a hard sell in the earlier days and from the outset I had no interest in being a marketing-led business, it was imperative that the product was scientifically proven and getting the validation from respected institutions has been hard-fought but critical to the success we are enjoying now.”
