The founder of Myprotein, who has amassed a fortune of more than £300m since leaving school with just one GCSE, has launched a new venture.
Oliver Cookson has set up multinutrient brand Verve in a bid to shake up the supplements industry. The company is being led by chief executive Georgia Copp-Barton who has previously worked for the likes of THG, Revolution Beauty and Accenture.
Mr Cookson established Myprotein in 2004 while the brand was acquired by Manchester-headquartered THG in 2011. Since then, the businessman and the group have been involved in a series of legal disputes.
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Writing on Verve's website, the businessman said: "I disrupted the sports nutrition industry back in 2004 when I created Myprotein and, I'm pleased to say, that with Verve, my team and I are all set to disrupt yet another sector! As a business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist I don't always put my health first.
"I know I'm not alone - balancing work, social and family life can leave little time for self-care. After living through a pandemic, not having the time for colds (who does?), and generally needing a little more energy and vitality (like we all do) I looked for a decent multivitamin that would help supplement my diet, perk up my immune system and (hopefully) contribute to my all round health and wellness.
"From experience I was familiar with the qualities of each individual ingredient so I developed my own bespoke mix just for personal use that gave me everything I needed in one scoop. I was happy with that.
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"Then I spoke to friends who had the same problem of cupboards bulging with pouches, bottles and supplements - that's when I had the idea for Verve. Busy people don't have the time to source and prepare mountains of fruits and vegetables to juice and blend on a daily basis.
"And, unless you're really passionate and obsessive and you really know what you're doing then you're not going to blend your own powder. So, Verve really is the practical, cost effective, great tasting solution to all of that.
"Honesty is the founding principle of Verve - it's as simple as that. We’re 100% transparent about each of our 80 ingredients, how they compliment each other and their real-world benefits. I insist that we use only the absolute best quality, ethically sourced ingredients and, working with the world's leading nutritionists, we’ve produced a premium, great tasting product that is all of the goodness and none of the hassle."
Mr Cookson grew up in Manchester and now splits his time between the 海角视频 and Monaco. Verve is registered with Companies House in Stockport. He previously set up business Monocore in 2011 before fully exciting the firm eight years later. As well as his other business interests, Mr Cookson founded investment vehicle OSC Group.
Despite no longer having any involvement in THG, Mr Cookson has remained a public critic of the group which has now owned his Myprotein brand for more than a decade.
In September, THG revealed its revenue fell by £100m while its pre-tax losses widened during the first half of 2023. The group posted a revenue of £969.2m for the six months to June 30, compared to the £1.069bn it achieved during the same period in 2022.
Its pre-tax losses also went from £108.1m to £133m over the same time. THG also said it had reduced its headcount by another 500 people since the start of the year.
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Writing on LinkedIn at the time, Mr Cookson said: "THG has pretty much been a Myprotein trading shell since 2011. Back then, they were selling CDs online at a loss. Today's results, once again, make that clear.
"While there's potential for Ingenuity to change their course, the current traction is very disappointing. Shareholders must be once again disappointed by these results. Some serious conversations and difficult decisions must be had."