Galway supplement business Revive Active is investing €500,000 in a new manufacturing plant as it brings that part of its business back in-house.
The health business will open a new 929sq m (10,000sq ft) facility in Mullingar later this month, allowing it to take back manufacturing operations from a facility in Wales where it outsourced the service.
Revive Active founder Daithí O’Connor said Brexit is one of the reasons the company has chosen to bring manufacturing back in-house. However, he said the company’s relationship with its Welsh manufacturer will allow it to continue servicing its UK operations.
"If it's a hard Brexit we'll look after all our retailers and service them from Wales. It would be a standalone operation and we wouldn't have any issues with customs and tariffs," Mr O'Connor told The Irish Times.
The company, in which Supermac’s owner Pat McDonagh is a shareholder, will create 10 new jobs in Mullingar when the facility is open.
New products
Revive Active has recruited Colm Horton, who previously worked with Dundalk manufacturer ProBiotech, to head up the facility which is supported by Enterprise Ireland.
As it gears up to launch new products Mr O’Connor has also recruited former executives from Lifes2Good, the company which last year sold its Vivascal hair restoration brand for a price understood to be in the region of €150 million.
Mr O’Connor, a former finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition, said the company will launch Zest Active later this year to cater to the 35 plus age cohort.
“Our Zest Active will be a very good entry to the market. We’re not selling products with caffeine, sugar or salt in them, these are all natural products. We’ve nothing to hide with our products.”
He noted the company is targeting the North American market where the vitamins, minerals and supplements segment is worth about $28 billion (€23.9 billion). “The American consumer is five times more likely to buy the product than the UK consumer. We’re doing a lot of due diligence on America at the moment and I think it’ll be a superb market for us,” he said.
Sales growth
The company is targeting sales growth of about 30 per cent this year having achieved 40 per cent growth in 2017. Unlike the aforementioned Lifes2Good, Revive Active is targeting digital sales methods as opposed to retail when it enters the US.
Currently employing 22 staff, the business recently launched two new youth supplements, Junior Revive and Teen Revive containing an ingredient from Kerry Group called Wellmune.
Founded in 2011, the company plans to reach over €5 million in turnover while exporting online to 42 countries worldwide.
Revive Active, which counts former British Olympian Paula Radcliffe as a brand ambassador, now has eight products on the market.
