Three years ago, Mat was just another frustrated supplement customer. He’d been taking NMN for over a year, cycling through different brands, trying to find something that actually worked. Some products gave him nothing. Others made bold claims but delivered mediocre results. The prices varied wildly, but quality seemed to have no correlation with cost.
That frustration led to the founding of Healthspan Formulas. Today, it’s one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of pharmaceutical-grade longevity supplements. But Mat’s journey from frustrated customer to successful supplement company founder offers lessons that go far beyond business.
The Problem That Started Everything
The supplement industry has a quality problem. Mat discovered this firsthand when he started digging into what was actually in the NMN products he’d been taking. Certificate of analysis requests were met with silence. Purity claims couldn’t be verified. Some products that claimed 500mg of NMN per capsule contained less than 200mg of active ingredient.
“I was wasting SO much money” Mat explains. “I’d been taking what I thought was high-quality NMN for nearly a year, but half the products I tried were basically expensive placebos.”
That’s when he realised the opportunity. There were thousands of people like him who wanted quality supplements but couldn’t find them. The market was crying out for transparency and genuine pharmaceutical-grade products.
Lesson 1: Quality Is Non-Negotiable
The first major decision for Healthspan Formulas was simple: they would never compromise on quality, even if it meant higher costs and smaller margins.
Mat knew this would work long-term. The supplement industry runs on repeat customers. If your products don’t work, people disappear. If they do work, customers tell everyone they know.
They chose pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing from day one. Their NMN supplements are produced to the same standards as prescription medications. Every batch comes with certificates of analysis confirming 98%+ purity.
The cost was eye-watering. Pharmaceutical-grade NMN costs roughly three times more than standard alternatives. But cutting corners here would have defeated the entire point.
“People ask why our NMN costs more than the competition,” says Mat. “The answer is simple – we’re not competing with the cheap stuff because it’s not actually NMN. We’re competing with products that work, and quality costs money.”
Lesson 2: Transparency Builds Trust
Early on, Mat decided to share everything. Certificates of analysis, manufacturing processes, testing protocols – if customers wanted to see it, they could have it.
This went against what everyone else was doing. Most supplement companies guard this information like state secrets, probably because they’re embarrassed by what the testing shows.
For Healthspan Formulas, transparency became their biggest advantage. When customers can see exactly what they’re buying – purity levels, contaminant testing, manufacturing standards – they make better choices. And customers who understand what they’re getting tend to stick around.
They put COAs on their website. They explain their testing. They’re open about their suppliers. Most companies in this space act like they’re selling classified information. Healthspan Formulas acts like they’re proud of what they make.
“Transparency isn’t just good ethics – it’s good business,” Mat notes. “When customers can verify everything we claim, they trust us. When they trust us, they become long-term customers and recommend us to friends.”
Lesson 3: Formulation Matters More Than Marketing
Most supplement companies start with a marketing meeting. They pick trending ingredients, design flashy labels, and think up claims that sound impressive.
Mat started with research papers. Their NMN Complex exists because studies suggested NMN works better with certain cofactors, not because combinations were the hot new thing.
TMG went in because NMN can deplete methyl groups. Trans-resveratrol made sense because it hits the same longevity pathways. Quercetin earned its place through solid research on cellular health.
Every ingredient had to prove itself with evidence, not marketing appeal. Takes longer. Costs more. But you end up with something that actually does what it’s supposed to do.
“I see companies throwing together ingredient lists based on what’s trending on social media,” says Mat. “We literally won’t include anything unless there’s peer-reviewed research showing it makes sense. That’s why our Complex has five ingredients instead of twenty.”
Lesson 4: Customer Education Drives Long-Term Success
The supplement industry loves keeping customers confused. Proprietary blends. Scientific-sounding nonsense. Claims so vague you can’t prove them wrong.
Mat went the other way. Healthspan Formulas explains what customers are taking and why. Product descriptions include actual science. Their blog covers everything from NAD+ boosting supplements to when and how to take them.
Educated customers make smart decisions. They understand why quality costs extra. They stick with things long enough to see results. They recommend you to friends because they can explain why you’re worth the money.
Plus, education attracts the right people – customers who care about quality and take their health seriously.
“We spend loads of time educating customers because informed customers make better decisions,” explains Mat. “Someone who understands why pharmaceutical-grade NMN costs more isn’t going to abandon us for a cheaper alternative that doesn’t work.”
Lesson 5: Growth Without Compromise
As Healthspan Formulas grew, the pressure to cut costs got intense. Cheaper ingredients, less testing, lower standards – every corner they could cut would have boosted profits.
Mat said no to all of it. Instead, they got better at operations, negotiated harder with suppliers who met their standards, and focused on selling more without dropping quality.
Turned out to be the right call. Their customers stick around because their products work consistently. Word-of-mouth drives loads of their growth because people trust them enough to recommend them to family and friends.
The Challenges Nobody Talks About
Building a quality-first supplement company costs more money and creates bigger headaches than anyone talks about. The supplier search alone took months. Mat would think he’d found the perfect manufacturer – great facilities, impressive certifications, competitive pricing. Then their first batch would come back from testing and the results were disappointing.
“We spent six months working with one supplier who seemed perfect on paper,” Mat explains. “Their samples were brilliant, their facility looked pharmaceutical-grade, they had all the right certifications. Then we ordered our first commercial batch and the purity was 20% lower than what we’d tested. Back to square one.”
This cycle repeated multiple times. Find a supplier, test samples, negotiate contracts, place orders, then discover the commercial production didn’t match the samples. Each false start meant delayed launches and money down the drain.
Even now, they test every single batch because consistency isn’t guaranteed. A supplier might deliver pharmaceutical-grade product for months, then suddenly their quality slips. Without batch testing, customers would be the ones discovering the problem.
“We’ve literally turned away thousands of pounds worth of product because it didn’t meet our standards,” Mat reveals. “Other companies would have sold it, but we can’t put our name on anything that isn’t exactly what we promise.”
Regulatory compliance adds another layer of complexity. Meeting pharmaceutical standards means endless documentation, extra oversight, and quality systems that cost serious money. Every delay in finding reliable suppliers pushed back product launches and ate into cash flow.
But these problems also protect them. Companies that cut corners can’t suddenly upgrade to what they do. And customers who’ve tried their products struggle to go back to the cheap alternatives.
What’s Next for Healthspan Formulas
Mat wants to do more than just sell supplements. He wants to change how this industry works. They’re pushing suppliers to raise their standards. They’re showing that you can build a profitable business by putting quality first.
New products are in development, but with the same rules – science first, quality non-negotiable, total transparency. They’re expanding while keeping the standards that got them here.
“The supplement industry has trained people to expect rubbish,” says Mat. “We’re proving that doesn’t have to be the case. Quality can win if you’re willing to stick with it long enough.”
This industry needs more companies willing to put customers ahead of quarterly profits. Healthspan Formulas is proving it can work.
The Lessons Apply Beyond Supplements
Building Healthspan Formulas taught Mat that customers will pay for quality when they can actually see the difference. Be transparent about everything. Educate people instead of confusing them. Think long-term instead of chasing quick wins.
These ideas work in any business where trust matters, not just supplements.
The Bottom Line
Healthspan Formulas exists because Mat got fed up with rubbish supplements and decided to make better ones. They succeeded because they put quality first, even when it was expensive and complicated.
The approach is simple: never cut corners on quality, be honest about everything, teach your customers, and think beyond next quarter’s numbers.
Now, they’re one of the UK’s most trusted longevity supplement brands. They’ve shown that quality businesses can beat cheap competitors. Most importantly, they’ve helped countless people get real results from their supplements.
Mat started this because he wanted quality supplements for himself. Building the company just meant making sure other people could find them too.
