BetterYou delivers optimum nutrition with pathology platform Medichecks
A partnership between two UK healthcare innovators – BetterYou and Medichecks – aims to boost wellbeing by equipping consumers with insights into their individual nutritional requirements, alongside offering pill-free supplements scientifically formulated for maximum absorption.
Most people recognise that vitamins are required for the body’s essential functions and biological processes. Yet, due to a host of factors including genetics, lifestyle and the environment, many people are prone to deficiencies. Among the most common are vitamin D, vitamin B12, and iron.
In fact, it is estimated that almost 1 billion people worldwide have low levels of vitamin D, with around 20% of the UK population deficient in it. Iron is the most widespread nutrient deficiency worldwide – it is estimated that more than 30% of the global population lacks the optimum amount of iron.
BetterYou was founded by Andrew Thomas in 2006, with the aim of maximising nutrient delivery and subsequent uptake in the body. Specialising in supplementation, it was the first healthcare company in the world to offer topically applied supplements and nutritional oral sprays.
“Today we understand that traditional tablet and capsule supplementation relies on a digestive process that has evolved exclusively for food intake, and absorption cannot be universally guaranteed. So, while increasing the intake of foods rich in the appropriate vitamins and minerals may help resolve or significantly reduce deficiencies, this is not always the case. Vitamin D, for example, is a lifestyle problem. You cannot eat your way out of a vitamin D deficiency,” explains Andrew.
“Add to this the dramatic increase in digestive malabsorption issues, an effective alternative delivery mechanism is vital. Every BetterYou product is developed and formulated to overcome the absorption challenges typically presented by traditional delivery methods,” he adds.
A consultative and collaborative partner in Medichecks
Without understanding specific nutrient levels in the body, individuals may not be supplementing adequately, so to better support its clients in optimising their health and wellbeing, BetterYou introduced at-home Vitamin D test kits. These proved so popular that the company soon expanded its offering.
Since inception, BetterYou has partnered with some of the finest research institutions and companies in the world and when it came to choosing a test provider, Medichecks was the obvious choice. It not only offers a complete Diagnostics-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform that makes it simple for companies like BetterYou to offer white-labelled testing services, but also has a legacy spanning over two decades, established relationships with UKAS-accredited laboratories, an impressive inventory of finger prick and venous health checks, and access to nationwide phlebotomy clinics.
The partnership represents a strong synergy around the potential for personalised healthcare, and not only for consumers. Elite athletes have also benefited from the collaboration. Andrew explains:
“Testament to our work with Medichecks is a suite of testing we did for a team of rowers. We were approached by a team of four females participating in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge. We supported them with nutritional testing and based on those results we produced a bespoke oral spray that contained all the nutrients they needed for their trip across the Atlantic.
“To know which nutrients we could and couldn’t test, which would travel well, and how we could do comparative testing at the end of the challenge, we called in the Medichecks team. The results were impressive. Not only did the team win their class, but they won by more than five days.”
Today, in partnership with Medichecks, BetterYou offers two at-home testing kits – for vitamin B12 and iron – that provide its clients with accurate and detailed insights.
“Besides its stellar reputation and its impressive range of tests, what sets Medichecks apart is the fact that they are consultative. They are willing to sit down and talk about our objectives and how we can work together. They are, of course, also very friendly and extremely knowledgeable” says Andrew.
He adds: “We use Medichecks tests, offered under the BetterYou brand, to help our clients identify the vitamins and minerals they may be lacking. This is vital. The more people understand themselves, the more likely they are to follow the right course of intervention. We don’t just want to sell supplements for the sake of it. We want people to feel a real benefit from it.”
In 2023, BetterYou supplied over 1,250 home testing kits to customers, with more than 22,000 tests distributed since it began offering the service.
Although Medichecks has a reporting system that lets individuals access their results via an online dashboard with comprehensive doctor’s commentary, BetterYou currently uses its own reporting system. This, says Andrew, is likely to change as the business expands its test offering – it has plans to launch both an energy and a menopause test soon.
The Medichecks team is excited to support BetterYou’s customers in their quest for optimum nutrition. Says Alex Wortley, Interim Group Marketing Lead at Medichecks: “Vitamin deficiencies are quite common, but they are often clinically unrecognised unless they are severe and causing issues that impact on quality of life. Even mild deficiency may affect a person’s health and wellbeing, with symptoms ranging from brittle hair and nails, mouth ulcers and scaly skin to fatigue, dizziness, and depression.
“We are thrilled to be able to support BetterYou in providing remote testing kits as a convenient and easy to use way to check for deficiencies – and we’re looking forward to seeing where the future takes this partnership.”
For Andrew and the BetterYou team, the tests are a key part of their offering. “Being nutritionally impoverished is like trying to push water up a hill,” says Andrew. “However, this can be addressed in a quick, easy and hassle-free way. From a simple finger-prick blood test, our clients get a thorough analysis of their nutrient level(s). Based on their results, we provide a detailed supplementation plan and advice on how to elevate nutrient levels, if required, to an optimal level.”
