Jonathan Yates, managing director of Harrogate-based Santeau, is launching a range of vitamin supplements designed to be added to bottled water.
Mr Yates hopes that the supplements will appeal because customers can get a health boost just by drinking their recommended daily intake of water – 1.8 litres.
Santeau is a health company which specialises in the research and development of soluble vitamin and mineral supplements for the European health market.
The products are designed to be added to bottled water and are available in three flavours. Each sachet dissolves in either a 500ml or 750ml bottle of water.
The supplements, called One.8, are in a powder form and dissolve in water to produce a clear fluid. They come in three varieties: Green Tea Morning Energiser, Lemon Exercise Enhancer and Cranberry Evening Destress.
They are designed to keep energy levels consistent during different periods of the day.
The products are currently being stocked by Holland & Barratt, and will be distributed by pharmaceutical and alternative health companies Unichem and Tree of Life.
Mr Yates has received plenty of positive feedback from customers who have purchased the products from the website.
He said: "I have had e-mails from customers who are adding the supplements to porridge!"
The company has also been approached by distributors in Hong Kong and a shopping channel in the US. But Mr Yates believes that the company needs to gain a strong footing in the UK before the products are rolled out worldwide.
"We are a start-up company and instead of growing massively we want to get a foothold in the UK and eventually use distribution partners to introduce the products to the European market."
Mr Yates based the supplements upon his own needs in a sports and work environment. He has run several marathons and, during his training, drank litres of bland and boring water and was unsatisfied with other soluble products available on the market.
He said: "My Eureka moment came when I saw a friend trying to break a soluble tablet into a bottle of water. He couldn't get it in and when he did succeed, it fizzed over the top – I thought there must be an easier way."
The company has worked closely with the Foods Standards Agency and North Yorkshire Trading Standards during the production of the products.
All of the supplements are currently manufactured in Pocklington, near York.
In the future, Santeau plans to widen its range of products, to reach a broader market.
Plans are already in place to introduce One.8.teen – an energy supplement aimed at 12-18-year-olds.
Similar products aimed at children and the over-50s are also in the pipeline.
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