The world of supplements can be a confusing one. There are so many different options to choose from that you end up feeling more confused leaving your health food store than before you walked in!
The simple solution to this problem lies with Inner Me! Passionate about making well-being beautifully simple, Hip & Healthy chat with this gorgeous and glowing brunette to find out the story and ethos behind this pure and nourishing brand!
Vitamins are something that Dragons get from stones in the Den, they don’t need a tablet for that, or do they?
Inner Me at a Glance:
| Idea | Vitamin supplement brand |
| Founder | Nikki Cooper |
| Asked For | £100,000 For 20% |
| Accepted Deal | Did not get a deal |
| Dragons | None |
| Business status | Dissolved |
| Episode No. | Season 11, Episode 5 |
Index:
What is Inner Me?
Inner Me claimed to provide specially designed vitamins & supplements for women to promote health, beauty, and vitality.
Simply put, it used to manufacture vitamin supplements and as a brand and positioned itself in the beauty products segment. The lack of clarity in the positioning of the product was a major reason why it failed to make it big or even sustain itself.
The product retailed in chains like Boots, Selfridges, Superdrug, etc. The problem with the company out and out was that it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The product was also available on Amazon which constituted a chunk of its sales. The core problem of Inner Me turned out to be chronicle and the company eventually shut shop in 2018.
Who is the Founder of Inner Me?
Nikki Cooper founded Inner Me in 2012. She was a corporate lawyer before setting up the company and returned to her core competence after Inner Me filed for dissolution. She currently serves as a contractual legal counsel at Oxford Quantum Circuits.
Her inspiration behind starting Up Inner Me was her fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Nikki’s remarks in an interview to Look Fantastic were,
“In 2009 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. As a fitness fanatic and general optimist I wasn’t ready to give in to my prognosis lightly so I started researching ways of optimizing my health and keeping my body strong.
I started taking vitamins, minerals, and fish oils to supplement my diet and soon found that not only did I feel better, but I looked better too, my skin was dewy and my nails and hair were stronger and longer.
I was very impressed and inspired by the results of the supplements but not so by the packaging and branding available which were all large and cumbersome with little or no indication as to what they did or indeed their quality, further all of the brands looked the same.
This was when the idea for Inner Me sparked, great quality supplements with portable stylish packs and no-nonsense names to boot.”
Did Inner Me get a deal on Dragon’s Den?
Nikki Cooper stepped into the Den with a ‘fresh face’ and a charismatic personality. The Dragons were impressed by her product concepts and benefits but a scrutiny that would negate Nikki’s charisma followed.
The Dragons were swift in pointing out the design flaws and the chronicle product-positioning issues on the inner side of Inner Me.
Nikki not having a pharmaceutical background herself also played a role in the disinterest of the Dragons in her company. Best wishes were all that the Dragons could give to Nikki.
Nikki failed to make her case in front of the Dragons despite being a lawyer; this suggests how difficult it is to prop up an investible business no matter what your educational qualifications are.
What happened to Inner Me after Dragon’s Den?
Inner Me seems to have benefitted quite a lot from the Dragons’ Den effect because it survived for five years after the airing of its episode despite the chronicle problems it had at the very core of its business.
The company generated most of its sales from Amazon. Now, let’s discuss the ‘chronicle problem’ in detail. No one would go to a pharmacy to buy a product to ‘heal themselves from the inside’ over a period of time and even if someone did, they would not look towards the beauty segment.
On the contrary, they would buy anything but a beauty product as they have a reputation for being ‘artificial’ and not ‘natural’.
Similarly, a person looking for a beauty product would want instant solutions and not a natural product that would heal them from the inside over a while
It is a surprising fact that the company managed to survive for five years in the market. Even after Dragons’ Den effect, five years seem to be quite a lot. The company eventually filed for dissolution in March 2018 after being out-competed.
Product Details:
- It is a vitamin supplement tablet.
- It targeted the women’s beauty segment.
- It was available in multiple retail chains throughout the UK.
- It came with gimmicky flip-flop packaging.
- It stopped trading in the market officially in 2018.
Competitors of Inner Me:
Inner Me made itself vulnerable to crippling competition from pharma as well as the beauty industry by its ridiculous product positioning.
Loads of products that offer vitamins exist in the pharmaceutical segment and even larger loads of products exist in the beauty segment that caters to consumer’s needs maybe in a bad way but surely in a faster way and that’s what beauty product buyers are looking for, not some healthy product that would heal them from the inside.
What is the Net Worth of Inner Me?
The net worth of Inner Me as proposed by Nikki Cooper in the Dragons’ Den was £500,000 but none of the Dragons considered it to be an investible business at this valuation.
Although the sales rose substantially after the airing of its Dragons’ Den episode, the company failed to achieve this valuation in its entire operational period.
The company shut down in 2018 and its founder moved back to her core competence since then.
Is Inner Me still in Business?
No, Inner Me filed for dissolution in March 2018 and as of 2020, its extraordinary resolution to dissolve was officially accepted by the government of the UK.
Inner Me attempted to merge the yogic and lustful aspects of a human being but it failed at doing so as the two aspects are antonyms of each other.
What Inner Me failed to factor in was not the content of its product but human tendency!!
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FAQs:
What was Inner Me?
Inner Me claimed to provide specially designed vitamins & supplements for women to promote health, beauty, and vitality. Simply put, it used to manufacture vitamin supplements and as a brand and positioned itself in the beauty products segment.
What was the net worth of Inner Me?
Although the sales rose substantially after the airing of its Dragons’ Den episode, the company failed to achieve this valuation in its entire operational period. The company shut down in 2018 and its founder moved back to her core competence.