2 Vampires Launch a Wellness Brand
[Image Credit: The Absorption Company]
The Absorption Company (co-founded by Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed) just launched in January 2024, and it’s a supplement company that’s putting bioavailability at its forefront.
Bioavailability is a trendier value proposition these days and it basically just means - how much of a nutrient/food is actually available for our bodies to turn into something useful. We don’t actually use up 100% of what we eat. For example, just because a Vitamin C capsule claims to have 300mg of Vitamin C doesn’t mean that your body will actually absorb and convert 300mg of Vitamin C. There’s always some level of loss for various reasons - which we’ll get into.
The Absorption Company claims that we don’t absorb 84% of the supplements that we’re taking, so they’re pairing a proprietary nutrient delivery system called Capsoil with the most bioavailable forms of nutrients out there.
Let’s talk about the launch.
The brand aesthetic combines the cheekiness of vintage American Apparel with the science textbook vibe of Seed Probiotics. Love the look of it.
There’s definitely a business engine behind the brand. Ian and two of his other co-founders, Nate and Zeke, all share a background in the alcoholic beverage industry - so there’s a strong understanding of the premium consumer.
There’s been pretty minimal marketing around the brand launch, but it all seems to be working, and that’s the power of celebrity in CPG.
There was also a very short span of time between the teaser and the announcement, which I think is for the best to avoid killing momentum with a busy audience.
During launch week, I only saw 1 Instagram post each from Ian and Nikki and 1 TikTok from Ian which currently sits at 1.8M likes. They both get incredibly high engagement on TikTok.
Their organic reach is actually insane. There’s probably some follower overlap, but they have a combined 53M followers, which are probably cross-generational as they are active on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
I don’t see the actual Absorption Company page on Facebook (at time of writing) which means they have yet to run paid ads. Curious to see how they continue to run marketing (especially organic, since Ian and Nikki have so many other ventures to share their social media real estate across).
Let’s talk about the products.
The brand launched with 5 products that they view as solutions to help us face our day. They’re all formulated as single-serving powders that you mix into water.
These are pricey at $39 for 14 sticks, but their value prop is basically communicating to us that they’re helping us get more for our money.
Of course they’re all formulated to their specific purpose - so for example, Restore contains things like electrolytes, CoQ10, and vitamin C while Sleep contains glycine, tart cherry, and chamomile.
Let’s talk about the science.
So this company claims that most supplements on the market today aren’t formulated to be bioavailable.
There are many factors that influence “how bioavailable” something is.
Product formulation
Individual differences in gut microbiomes
Synthetic vs. natural ingredients
Nutrient synergy / interactions
Dosage
Timing of consumption
The company has developed a proprietary nutrient delivery system called Capsoil, which among many things, has turned fat-soluble nutrients into water-soluble ones.
What that does for us is it improves the user experience - we don’t have to sit there and think about whether a certain supplement needs to be consumed with a little bit of fat in order to be effective.
The brand is committed to using ingredients in their most bioavailable forms and in combinations that work well together.
They’ve also engineered nutrients into incredibly tiny particles (200nm) that increase surface area, and therefore they promise us up to 5x improved absorption.
Macro Trends
I’ve definitely seen positive reception to other brands that promote bioavailability as a value prop. Cymbiotika, LivOn Labs, and Armra come to mind. And it also almost seems obvious that once consumers are made aware of the fact that they need to shop for supplements with bioavailability in mind, they would opt for brands that can demonstrate that they offer better value for money.
