Published on 08, Feb 2023

What’s Really in Your Medicine Cabinet? Rho Nutrition™ Pulls Back the Veil on Your Vitamins

It’s a given that the vitamins you take everyday were created with your health in mind - or were they? How many of us have stopped to think about where those bottles of supplements really come from? “Until a few years ago, we were like most people - we thought vitamins were made by companies motivated by improving our health,” says Ryan Bishop, who co-founded Rho Nutrition™ with George Padilla. “Then we got an inside look into who really makes them: publicly traded companies that put profits ahead of people. As you can imagine, this was extremely frustrating since it should be the other way around. We ultimately decided to create Rho Nutrition™ so that vitamins could do what they’re meant to do: help you to be healthier.”

You may be wondering how George and Ryan figured out that Big Pharma, Big Food, and Big Nutrition are behind the vitamins you fill your medicine cabinet with. They explain that 4-5 years ago, they were working in the supplement industry for a vitamin manufacturer and supplier. They led a small business development team that worked with domestic and international distributors and brands. 

“We were uniquely positioned to deal with the biggest vitamin brands in the world,” George explains. “We were able to make strong connections and get a 40,000-ft. view of the quality of supplements, sourcing of ingredients, marketing strategies - everything these large companies were doing to put their products in our homes.”

As lifelong lovers of health and wellness, Ryan and George were disappointed by what they learned about the industry. They still valued vitamins and their potential benefits, but when they understood that big corporations were manufacturing supplements, they were convinced a change was needed.

“It’s true what they say - if you create a product that you yourself would buy, you’ve got a great idea,” says Ryan. “George and I decided to make supplements that we would want to take. We focused primarily on three things: increasing the absorption of vitamins, using quality ingredients, and keeping integrity in our products by remaining self-funded. What this boils down to for people is that we prioritize vitamins that are made to work, not to be sold.”

One of the biggest challenges was innovating a way to increase the absorption of supplements. To solve it, Ryan and George connected with two of the top PhD scientists in the U.S. who specialized in working with liposomes. This would be an integral part of Rho Nutrition’s vitamins.

“You can think of liposomes as lipid bubbles that carry vitamins into your body’s cells. Basically, they ensure that supplements are efficiently transported around your body and are their bodyguards against the harsh acids in your stomach,” George says. “Since Rho Nutrition’s vitamins are wrapped in liposomes, their absorption is increased by up to 10-15 times. The more a vitamin is absorbed, the more effective it can be. This is the science behind our products that is making us different from companies that have dominated the industry for the past thirty years.”

From there, it was a matter of optimizing how the vitamins are taken. George and Ryan reveal that they enjoyed doing all of the research and sampling, and they finally settled on a flavored liquid form that can be taken alone or added to water, juice, or a smoothie. There is also a Sleep Mist that is administered by spraying several pumps into the mouth. George and Ryan also focused on four main ingredients that can potentially help with immunity, healthy aging, anti-inflammation, cellular health, and sleep issues, among others.

“It’s been an incredible journey starting Rho Nutrition and developing supplements that target oxidative stress and inflammation, the root of so many health problems,” says Ryan. “When we got started, we wanted to give health lovers vitamins that are backed by science. It has turned into so much more - a way to help them to fully connect to their purpose and to feel energized every day. It is exciting to see more people breaking away from Big Pharma and having the clarity to live without constraints.”