Gosforth entrepreneur launches Wirz Herbs
Nov 18 2010 by John Hill, The Journal
FORMER curator Louise Vincent is launching a new business selling naturally-formulated sports recovery products to active consumers.
The Gosforth-based entrepreneur spent 20 years working as a publisher, curator and gallery director with organisations such as Sunderland’s Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, but began work on her new venture Wirz Herbs last November after spotting an opening in the sports and outdoor market.
Wirz Herbs is developing a range of products based on natural ingredients, all of which have been tested for effectiveness in the laboratories of Newcastle University.
Vincent said: “I thought it was odd that people who enjoy outdoor life don’t have access to products that are green in this country. I had a skiing accident abroad earlier in the year, and I was glad I wore a helmet because I landed on my head about five metres down from where I left my skis.
“I went to the local pharmacy after being dosed up on paracetamol, and they had a whole range of naturally formulated products. There’s an established market in Europe, so why not here?”
Wirz Herbs received funding in April and began work with the university’s medicinal plant research group executive director Dr Ed Okello and Professor Mark Birch Machin from the molecular dermatology department.
Vincent said: “We recognised we needed a solid scientific base. There’s a growing industry but we’re interested in the science behind it as well. A footballer or a jogger isn’t going to buy a product because it has blue camomile in it. They’re going to buy it because it works.
“We wanted to do a scientific enquiry into the signature ingredients we were going to use. We were looking at the chemistry of the active ingredients such as blue camomile, white willow and rosemary. We compared it against the plant extracts such as wintergreen used in mainstream products. We wanted to create a product which isn’t as overpowering but is high-performance.”
The signature ingredients in the four-product range act as rubefacients or counter-irritants, stimulating the dilation of capillaries and in turn increasing circulation around the treated area and contributing to the healing process.
Vincent said the Natural Hero range is designed to treat minor injuries such as muscle sprains and as a compliment to physiotherapy. Products include a muscle spritz and a hot ginger muscle rub, and the four products will be available in two sizes from March.
In the meantime, the Wirz Herbs is live and the company is making samples available business-to-business from the start of December. North East physiotherapy company Connect Physical Health has agreed to try out the products in its clinics, and Vincent is looking for physiotherapists and gyms interested in stocking the range.
She said: “There is clearly a lot of very high-level science that is out there in cosmetics and skincare; but we do feel a lot more can be done to offer natural formulations for wellbeing and sports recovery with a sound scientific basis for its claims. For us we just feel that if great performance is deliverable through natural formulations then the Natural Heroes range offers a real, high performance alternative to what's already in the marketplace.”
