The Story of OOST.
I was meeting a friend of mine for a pint on a Friday. He had just finished playing his regular 5-aside football game and sat down at the bar with an audible grunt and pulled a ouch face. What’s up with you? I asked, getting old are ya? Yes was the reply, I’m not as young as I used to be.
Joint Pain is a thing
Well this made me sit up…. over the next few days, I started to notice more and more of my friends making the same complaints. Play a game of hockey over the weekend, cant bend down to pick up your keys until Wednesday without that audible unnhhhhhhhh. It was like buying a certain type of car, thinking that there aren't that many around and the moment you buy it, you start noticing them everywhere. Everywhere I went I noticed more and more men around my age making that giveaway sigh when they sit down, stand up, bend over, reach for something. There was a problem here and maybe it needed a solution.
First thoughts, Glucosamine Sulphate:
At a previous job I worked for a very successful company that started its life selling a raw ingredient to supplements manufacturers and brands called glucosamine. They went on to have a full gamut of ingredients in their portfolio but it was glucosamine that really laid the foundation. This product has been used for many years as a joint support and throughout the 2008 recession the sales of it just kept increasing. The product was recession proof. Why???
Well, glucosamine has been marketed to the older generation of 65 plus by all the established brands. The people who were buying it, it turns out, were sacrificing other purchases rather than going without their glucosamine supplements, despite the limitations on their pay packet or pension, imposed by measures brought in to deal with the recession and banking crisis.
I had a little think, and wondered what if this type of ingredient was consumed by a younger cohort as a preventative health measure when joint pain begins in middle age rather than a reactive measure later in life when the problem is irreversible and the damage done.
Enter Collagen:
During my time with the previously mentioned company there was a really obvious rise in the popularity trend of another ingredient that was fast becoming the new darling of the ingredient world. Fish collagen. The beauty sector was hailing this as the new wonder supplement and it was marketed as the solution to skin aging. Multiple studies later it was proven that it increased skin elasticity, improved hair and nail growth, amongst a bunch of other benefits, The positive user testimonials were going through the roof. The next obvious question was, if it helps so well with the outside of the body what was it doing on the inside. Many more studies later and it has shown to have the same level of success in helping with joint and muscle care. The reasons for this are that one-third of the body's protein consists of collagen. It is a cross-linked protein in human tissue which means that like the steel rebars that reinforce concrete, collagen provides elasticity and tensile strength, thereby offering useful support for joints. Collagen production in the body drops off in the mid twenties and this is one of the reasons why the body starts to show signs of aging.
So I had 2 ingredients in mind. What to do with them was the next question. Over a coffee with a friend of mine we started talking about the idea, the market, the types of customers and whether or not it was a business. That friend is Wendel who then became my co-founder as we decided to give it go…..
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#jointcare #jointpain #collagen #glucosamine #supplements #startup #healthandwellness #oostsup #oostnutrition
