Today we’d like to introduce you to Arielle Levitan and Romy Block.
Arielle and Romy, please share your story with us.
We are two physicians who practice on the North Shore. We initially met through work and realized we had a lot in common, lived in the same neighborhood and each had three kids. We started walking together and would talk about our lives, families and our practices. Despite that fact that we had different medical specialties, Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, we found we had a lot of similar experiences with our patients. We were both finding that people were confused about vitamins. Patients would often come in with bags of supplements and vitamins they were taking because they were told to take them by a friend or relative. They were often taking unsafe products and combinations that could cause them great harm.
On the flip side, we saw many people not taking any vitamins because they were confused or overwhelmed by the choices and the many conflicting media messages. Many people were actually vitamin deficient. It was not uncommon for people to come in with symptoms such as fatigue, thinning hair, or weight gain, thinking they had a thyroid condition or other medical problem, only to fine they were suffering from vitamin deficiencies. We realized that there was a problem here and vitamin confusion was abounding. People wanted and needed a safe and reliable vitamin solution but did not know what was the right thing to take. Our knowledge as physicians told us that not everyone needed the same thing and an individualized approach was needed. After researching the vitamin industry intensively we learned about the lack of FDA regulation of these products and the many safety concerns with most off the shelf vitamins. We then began our journey to create better vitamins. After years of research and hard work, we created Vous Vitamin. Voila! Our customers can go online, take a brief survey about their diet, lifestyle and health history/concerns to get a personalized multivitamin tailored to their individual needs. We created what we knew our patients wanted and needed to feel their best and protect their health.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have certainly had our challenges, as does any startup. We started out as doctors, not entrepreneurs. We have however learned that many of the skills we have as physicians can translate into a successful business. First and foremost, understanding our customers and their needs. People would often ask us if we did market research? We would have to respond that never did formal focus groups or paid an agency but we happened to have talked to thousands of people about this topic for the last 20 years so that would have to suffice. We had to surmount the fact that we did not have a background in IT or e-commerce. This was at first daunting, but we learned over time how to get help in certain areas and it turns out that we actually are more proficient in computers, UX and the like just from our work in health care. We also are quick to learn new information and how to apply it. Perhaps one of our greatest challenges was finding a manufacturer to make the products we envisioned. We have very high standards for quality, purity and pharmaceutical grade ingredients. We searched long and hard, toured factories for months. Just when we had almost given up and drawn the conclusion that there were no trustworthy and scrupulous manufacturers we found what we were looking for. We have been blessed to have an amazing partner in making the best vitamins on the market.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Vous Vitamin – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Vous Vitamin is an online venue for personalized multivitamins. To get the vitamins that are right for them our customers take a brief online survey about their diet, lifestyle, and health history. They then get a personalized multivitamin sent directly to them to meet their individual needs. We created the vitamins that we always wanted to be able to recommend to our patients. Recognizing that we all have different needs, based on who we are, we should not all take the same thing. Our system clears the confusion about what vitamins you should be taking. Our customers love having a simple one pill solution to their vitamin needs (take two pills daily). Our products are of the highest quality, free of unneeded additives and based on sound medical research. Unlike many other vitamins on the market, our products have fewer ingredients since we eliminate some of the unsafe contents of many off the shelf products (heavy metals, high dose vitamin A which is associated with cancer, toxic additives). Vous vitamin personalized multivitamins give each person exactly what they need to feel their best and support their health.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We continue to grow on a national level. We are looking forward to expanding our presence to a physical retail level, considering kiosks in certain locations. We are also excited to be continually rolling out new products and expanding our line of options. Currently, we focus on personalized multivitamins but also have a line of Situational Supplements which are products to be used at certain times when needed–Immune Blast (for helping to prevent illness), Power Up (for exercise and energy) and Recovery Act (to help with the toxic effects of alcohol). We are also looking forward to launching a supplement to assist with sleep. We continue to blog about vitamins and health, talk about our book, The Vitamin Solution and are launching a podcast about vitamins and health this summer. Stay tuned!
Pricing:
- Monthly supply of a Personalized Multivitamins range from $24.99 to $39.99 per month
- Situational supplements for $5 per 4 dose pack
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vousvitamin.com
- Email: info@vousvitamin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vousvitamin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vouspersonalizedvitamin
- Twitter: @vousvitamin
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
