What started off as a goal to lose weight became a successful vitamin company.
Samia Gore, 40, of Detroit, isthe first Black woman to have a line in The Vitamin Shoppe in the store'sweight loss category.
She launchedher TRIM line, which includes plant-based metabolism drops, energy drops, and appetite suppressant capsules,inover 700 Vitamin Shoppes across the country starting on Aug. 1.
In 2014, Gore founded Body Complete RX, a lifestyle and wellness brand of plant-based and vegan supplements.
I was not always interested in health and wellness. This is an industry that I basically fell in based on my own personal journey, " she said.
Before owning a multimillion-dollarbusiness, Gore was a human resource manager for the Department of VeteranAffairs. She left the federal government to focus on her company full-time ayear after it launched.
"When I left my federal job, we were making my annual federal job salary on a monthly basis for a whole year, " Gore said.
The businesswoman grew up on Detroits west side and graduated from SouthfieldHigh School in 1999. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from Eastern Michigan University. She went on to pursue a master's degree in business from Central Michigan University.
Gore had four children along the way:Amirah Wiley, 19, Harmony Wiley, 17, Sincere Wiley,16, and Carter Gore, 7.
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After having her fourth child, Gore was determined to lose the 80 pounds she gained during her pregnancy. She started researching healthy ways to lose weight and keep it off. She found that one of the things she was missing was a good vitamin supplement.
Gore tried multiple productsand none of them worked for her. She described it as supplement roulette. She said that some of the products she was using made her nauseous and affected her appetite.
She also wasprescribed an over-the-counter weight loss supplement and had a mommy makeover, in which she had a few cosmetic procedures done, including a tummy tuck.
I realized that after having that process done that its not just a quick fix. You have to find ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which is something that I wasnt necessarily brought up with," Gore said. As a child, I never knew about protein or eating lean or taking your vitamins, she said.
After lots of trial and error with many products, she partneredwith Dr. Ruby Lathan, anutritionist who cured herself of thyroid cancer by eating a plant-based diet. Gore and Lathan developed a product that was plant-based, boosted her metabolism, and helped her transition into a healthy lifestyle.
"The products are plant-based and our brand is plant-based because I wanted to offerto our consumers a clean product," she said. "I wanted them to look at our products … and know exactly what's in it."
Gore attributes her success to her followers on social media. She began documenting her weight loss journey on Instagramin 2014. Once she launched Body Complete Rx she didn't find it hard to attract customers because people noticed how she transformed her body and they were convinced that they could, too.
As with starting any business, Gore experienced some challengesthroughout the years. While she had a lot of customers who loved her products, she said it was more difficult to market her product within the Black community because it's more common for Black owners to have products in the beauty industry and not the supplement industry.
In the very early years of her business she removed herself from being the face of her company because she found ithard to convince people that her products weren't a scam.
"Being a Black women in the supplement space for the past severalyears without having space on a retailshop, I do feel like I have to work 10 times harder." Gore said.
Just a year ago, Gore rebranded her business and now people know that she is the woman behind it all. Now that her product is The Vitamin Shoppe, Gore is hopeful that she is able to inspire young girls who want to createtheir own supplement products.
Contact Janelle James: JDJames@freepress.com and follow her on Twitter @Janelle___J
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Detroit native becomes the first Black woman to launch a supplement in The Vitamin Shoppe - Detroit Free Press
