World Rugby backed supplements firm Whole Supp make the jump into retail

Whole Supp, the Dublin-based supplements business, is entering the retail space for the first time, having previously been solely a direct-to-consumer business. The move follows collaborations with World Rugby as well as the leisurewear brand Lululemon over the past year.

The nutritional supplements firm was founded by Darren O’Reilly, a former professional rugby player with Leinster, and Dr Brian Carson in 2022. It has eight staff and has raised funding of €600,000 to date.

“We deliver a shake that is high in protein and nutritionally complete. It provides over 30 vitamins and minerals along with protein, fats and carbohydrates in one supplement,” O’Reilly told the Business Post.

The business grew out of necessity for O’Reilly. His switch from being a full-time athlete to the corporate world, where he worked in digital transformation, meant he had to change the way he thought about his health.

“When I moved into the real world, with a nine-to-five job, I was trying to catch up for lost time with my peers, and that led to me making poor food choices,” he said. “It gave me an ‘a-ha’ moment as I realised how much I missed the support of the nutritionists and dieticians I had at hand as a rugby player.”

That led to him reaching out to Carson, a medical doctor, to develop the idea for the company.

“We looked at some of the competitors in our field. Many of them had enjoyed enormous growth, but the health benefits of their products weren’t always clear. That led to us thinking more about what we put into the product,” O’Reilly said.

“The decision to put in something like organic cherries or beetroot into the product is only made when we can see there is a clear health benefit. Ultimately, we look at ourselves as a lifestyle supplement.”

The early adopters of the product were athletes, but the business has grown to having over 10,000 customers in total. Whole Supp has, up to now, been an entirely direct-to-consumer business but is now branching out to work with retailers.

“We have big expectations for this year. More than the growth, we have a customer return rate of 60 per cent. That’s more than double the industry average,” O’Reilly said. “We’re looking at an omni-channel approach. We’re also opening a fulfilment centre in Rotterdam to help with shipping to the rest of Europe.”

O’Reilly said the business has benefited immensely from support it has received from Enterprise Ireland.

“They’ve been brilliant. We’re in the high-potential start-up unit, they’re a great soundboard and provide lots of market analysis. Their focus is growth and so is ours. We don’t look at them as an agency, we see them as a valued partner,” he said.

This Making it Work article is produced in partnership with Enterprise Ireland