Now a booming multi-billion dollar landscape, the multivitamin industry has established it’s clear hold over a majority of health conscious U.S. families. Adding to it the predicament of the COVID-19 dilemma, parents have safely taken refuge in the realms of fruit and vegetable packed, candy-flavored little gummies – better known as multivitamins.
Still, the question remains – how healthy are these multivitamins?
And are they really as good as they’re made out to be?
To get the straightest answer to the question – we caught up with Darren Litt, Founder of one such children’s vitamins company – Hiya Health, that’s veritably striving to make a difference. The dad of two divulged upon his company’s mission to provide children with nothing but their daily nutrient requirement – minus the sugar and gummy junk.
Backed by years of research, based on the advice of top pediatricians and nutritionists, and made with immense thought and care – Hiya Health makes a strong case for being a brand centered on being good – by doing good.
Read ahead, to learn more about Darren and his brand’s incredible story.
Before Hiya Health, In Darren’s Words –
I briefly started my career as a lawyer, then quickly transitioned to being a tech entrepreneur. I’ve co-founded and scaled a few tech businesses, including MarketerHire, the leading platform for digital marketing experts, and GoLive! Mobile, the leading mobile content company.
My background is in tech, not health, so when I began looking into the issues with children’s health, I was motivated by a general curiosity and desire to build something better. The result was that so many people I spoke with said what I was trying to build was too hard — kids vitamins were this way for a reason so don’t try to change it.
Instinctively I knew that was wrong, yet when you’re new to an industry, it’s tough not to think perhaps they know something you don’t.
Dad instincts : What led to the inception of Hiya Health –
As a tech entrepreneur, I’ve built a career in finding solutions to tough problems. Yet I’m also a dad of two amazing girls. When I became a parent, I became frustrated that our pediatrician had suggested sugar-filled gummy vitamins for our kids, then as I started to look for a better product, I realized the world of children’s vitamins had not evolved much since the 1980s!
So my instinct was to say “there has to be a better way”, which is an ethos that has served me well in the world of tech. I created Hiya as a way to keep our kids healthier, since so many children’s products are filled with added sugar and junk.
A day : In Entrepreneur time –
Every day is different which I love. I’m currently co-founder of two fast-scaling companies — MarketerHire and Hiya. Which means every day has a new set of issues that come with growth and sustenance.
The key for me is to prioritize urgent, important issues while delegating those that are urgent yet less important and scheduling time for those that are important yet not particularly time-sensitive.
The best part about being an entrepreneur is –
The best part about being an entrepreneur is total flexibility. You can create your product, schedule, company culture — everything comes from you. Then as your idea grows, you can see the product you’ve created and processes you’ve built take on a life of their own.
Once I became an entrepreneur, the idea of working for someone else disappeared. I enjoy building my own business, team, and culture, and it’s become a core part of my life.
What sets this children’s vitamins brand apart from the rest?
Hiya is a company devoted to healthy kids. Our first product is a sugar-free, junk-free multivitamin delivered in no-plastic packaging. Each order includes a refillable glass bottle and stickers to decorate it with, making Hiya good for the environment and fun for kids.
When we first launched, we put out an ad where we walked the aisles of Whole Foods, picked up various vitamins, and read off the amount of sugar in the most popular vitamins. The CEO of one of the country’s largest vitamin companies repeatedly wrote to us to complain about our ad, yet our response was always the same — all we’re doing is reading ingredients you put on your label…we didn’t choose those ingredients, you did. If you think we’re misreading an ingredient, please let me know.
Eventually the CEO stopped messaging us. And it was at that point, we knew we were onto something big, as parents resonated with our message.
Millions of parents give their kids vitamins, yet if you look closely, you’ll see these “vitamins” are often filled with sugar, preservatives, chemicals, and other synthetic gummy junk kids should never eat.
We created a better vitamin filled with essential nutrients and without the glucose syrup, sucrose, gelatin, added sugar, and toxic fillers you find in so many children’s products.
We created a vitamin with honest ingredients, no sugar and only what’s best for several children around the world taking these vitamins, just like ours.
