Interview with Gordon Belch, founder of vybey
Find out what inspired Gordon Belch to launch vybey, a deliciously tasty, nutritionally complete superfood meal.
What was the lightbulb moment when vybey was born?
Sport has always been an integral part of my life, as someone who ran for Scotland as a school boy and who competed at tennis and rugby at district level.
When I was at Aberdeen university studying Law with Accountancy, I reintroduced myself to the gym where I developed an interest in bodybuilding, which ultimately led to me finishing third at the Scottish championships and securing a place at the European championships. A few years later the decathlon became my sports focus and I went on to become a top five performer for the country.
Throughout this time I was concocting for myself every morning a delicious blend of banana, honey, oats, berries, flax seeds, protein powder, fish oil, almond milk and a scoop of vitamins and minerals. It took ages and cost a fortune. Many times I wished there was something to hand that took less time and was more affordably priced.
Roll forward a few years to 2018 and I started talking to bottling factories about my idea for a nutritious complete meal shake whilst talking to food scientists and consultants who I needed to put my outline vision onto a sound commercial footing. Having paid their fees (far from small), I had all the incentive I needed to bring vybey to fruition.
What is vybey’s USP?
vybey is one of the most complete meal offerings available in the sense that it places a greater emphasis on brain health in tandem with wellbeing. vybey does this by prioritising ingredients with brain-boosting properties such as the nootropic, lion’s mane mushroom that actively supports improved cognitive function.
As a business born in Australia, vybey found the perfect marketplace to shape and evolve its identity because in terms of complete meal shake appreciation, the Australian consumer is further along the ‘appreciation curve’ with protein savvy products normalised across all age demographics.
Three years since launch of the complete meal powders, vybey has evolved into a braincare nutrition brand launching both Braincare Smart Greens (a super greens blend with brain health focused ingredients) and Braincare Smart Focus (a nootropic coffee alternative powdered by medicinal mushrooms). We see brain and gut health as key pillars in our vision for a healthier society hence the broadening of our brand horizons.
Who is vybey’s ideal customer?
We prioritise two key audiences:
- Health-conscious, young professionals focused on optimal health
- Time-poor, always on-the-go parents striving for optimal health
What obstacles have you had to overcome?
A few I suppose. In some quarters complete meals are treated with a fair amount of suspicion and derision, not helped by the fact that ‘early doors’ some players threw around ridiculous phrases such as meal replacement shakes, which is a needlessly polarising term, because, whilst they may well be complete food sources (or powdered food) and an acceptable meal replacement for one even two meals a day, there are every day alternatives to real, fresh food.
As with all things in life not all meal replacement drinks are made equal! With regards many of the original mass-produced propositions there are ongoing questions about the quality and integrity of ingredients used, the excesses of hidden sugars and salt, artificial nasties, filler gums, dearth of real food ingredients, etc.
That said, there has been a snowballing demand for protein-rich foods in recent times as its beneficial nature is better understood and appreciated; be that aiding muscle recovery post exercise, keeping hunger at bay, stay active as they age.The same goes for fibre and probiotics (improved gut health) with our gut increasingly being identified as our second brain which shapes and influences our wider health.
It’s worth noting that versus many of our mass-market peers, vybey offers an upgrade in terms of: added nootropics (brain health), natural sweeteners, four times less salt, superior taste and a higher probiotic dose.
How do you spread the word?
Online has been our historical heartland so online advertising, word-of-mouth and sampling have been central to vybey’s impressive growth. Having landed back in the UK with vybey, we are now keen to add further strings to our bow which is why PR, founder interviews, pertinent awards, category features and reviews have all come to the fore.
Why the link to Mary’s Meals?
Rory (co-founder) and I are both Scottish so we were keen to foster further ties back to our homeland and Mary’s Meals is a home-grown, Scottish charity. We are firm believers in corporate social responsibility having historically worked together on a non-profit start-up that donated all proceeds to the Prince’s Trust. We witnessed first-hand the difference that such funds make to people’s lives.
Mary’s Meals provides school meals to some of the poorest regions of the world and as two individuals who’d had very fortunate starts in life we wanted to give back.
What’s the best business advice you’ve been given?
Play to your strengths! Surround yourself with people who are better than you in every field. There’s clearly a limit to how much you can do alone and yet a family of like-minded individuals with superior specialist honed skills means the sky’s the limit! This is why vybey is now a team of 25 (full-time and ad-hoc support).
Find out more about vybey.
