27 September 2019 - Deborah Wilkes
A company co-founded by Jeff Smith – a former senior executive at Johnson & Johnson – has launched a personalised vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) service in the US.
The service from Paragon Vitamins is based around a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) that is said to determine "precisely what the body needs at the cellular level".
Results from the HTMA are combined with responses to a questionnaire to provide the customer with a tailor-made wellness guide and personalised VMS packs. Paragon Vitamins says a subscription can cost as little as USD1.50 a day.
Sam Bock, co-founder of Paragon Vitamins and a former Olympic coach, said the service provided "unique vitamin combinations each day which are based on more in-depth data than a questionnaire alone".
Paragon Vitamins, which has USD1.5 million in seed funding, said its service went "far beyond the other subscription services on the market today".
Smith spent nearly 30 years at Johnson & Johnson, including several years as company group chairman for North America.
In addition to Smith and Bock, Paragon Vitamins has two other co-founders. Betsy Taggart is a former group brand director for Beauty & Health at Johnson & Johnson, while Courtney Smith is a digital strategist who has worked for UM Worldwide.