The UK business, launched in 2023, has overcome a key barrier to uptake with the completion of its study comparing its vitamins and minerals to synthetic counterparts, according to its founder and CEO Ky Wright.
Industry players were previously hesitant to utilize these all-natural ingredients for supplement and functional food fortification due to a lack of clinical validation around bioavailability and stability. Wright says that the company’s new data, set to be presented at the Nutrition Society Winter Conference in January 2026, can finally put manufacturers’ minds at ease.
Conducted by Swansea University researchers, the single-blind, randomized interventional trial, involving 61 volunteers, measured changes in blood vitamin and mineral concentrations (12 in total) in response to an organic or synthetic multivitamin supplements.
“The resulting data proves the natural nutrients are just as bioavailable as synthetic,” Wright told NutraIngredients. “It’s really exciting to have the data and, frankly, a relief!”
The researchers further tested the stability of the micronutrients across the shelf life of a range of product formats, from carbonated drinks to baby food pouches.
Wright said the research allows Biovit to guarantee nutrition content within finished products throughout their shelf life.
He added: “We have been working quietly in the background on this huge dataset, and now we are in the strong position to back our ingredients without any ambiguity.”
The team is completing a study report with the aim to have it published in a peer-reviewed journal early next year.
Bioavailable, naturally
While most supplements and fortified foods contain synthetic vitamins, these are not always identical in shape and structure (Vandamme et al., 1992) and can lack the synergistic compounds present in micronutrients from plant extracts, according to Wright.
For example, he said Biovit extracts its iron from curry leaves which, unlike synthetic iron salts, naturally provide a composition of iron alongside cofactors and co-nutrients.
“Fortifying with synthetic iron would provide 100% iron with no synergistic elements, whereas our iron from curry leaf extract provides 3% iron with all the synergistic benefits your body can use to better absorb it,” he said.
Frozen yogurt to fortification
Wright previously launched two B2C food business. The first, co-founded at the age of 17, was a frozen yogurt shop called Lick which grew into a global brand.
Second was meal replacement beverage brand Human Food, created as an all-natural and organic alternative to the other meal replacement brands on the market.
It was in that business that he discovered a huge white space in the market.
“It was when it came to looking to get organic certification for the product that the bodies told me ‘you can’t put synthetic minerals in organic food and drinks’,” he said. “I didn’t even understand what a synthetic vitamin was!”
The business developed its own natural micronutrients for inclusion in the drinks, and this became their main unique selling proposition.
“I saw then that the bigger opportunity was providing natural vitamins and minerals to the food industry,” Wright said.
Closing the knowledge gap
Wright strongly believes organic micronutrients better suit consumers’ preferences for natural and sustainable ingredients.
A recent report from Safe Food Advocacy Europe revealed that 86% of 5,000 European consumers surveyed would buy a product labeled as having natural ingredients, he noted, but the majority did not realize micronutrients in natural products might be synthetic, and 89% believe the EU should implement stricter regulations for clear labeling.
“It’s almost impossible to be able to work out what’s actually natural,” Wright said. “You see ‘natural’ products listing ‘phytonutrients’, and the consumer will naturally assume that is natural when it’s not, which is very misleading.
Safe Food Advocacy Europe is lobbying for the government to put in legislation around use of the word ‘natural’ and prohibit the use of synthetic vitamins and minerals or flavors in products labeled as such.
Even without the changes in legislation, Wright argued consumer awareness is quickly growing, claiming “we are close to tipping point where the majority of consumers will be aware of synthetic ingredients and actively avoiding them.”
“All it takes these days is one influencer to raise awareness and all of a sudden there could be a radical shift,” he added.
The ingredients boast sustainability credentials, too. While synthetic micronutrients are typically made from unsustainable source materials like petrochemicals, all of Biovit’s micronutrients come from 100% organically-grown plants.
In a continued sustainability push, the team will next conduct research, backed by a £1.2million fund from the Welsh Government and Innovate UK, to develop methods for extracting micronutrients from food processing waste in order to develop circular ingredients.
