Reflex Nutrition

Tomorrow’s supplements today

Founded with a passion for windsurfing and delivering superior quality sports supplements, Reflex Nutrition represents an innovative solution in both nutritional and physical excellence

Within both the demanding fields of sporting competition and personal physical development, the requirement for supplements that are safe, healthy and of the highest level of quality is critical. Reflex Nutrition was founded by its current owner and Managing Director, James Phillips with a goal of providing the world’s best sports supplements that address the goals of lean muscle; weight management; muscle and strength; health and wellbeing; energy and endurance; and recovery. “I started Reflex Nutrition in 1996 to make the best supplements money can buy and I can put my hand on my heart and say that we achieve this goal daily,” James says. “Look at our range, you simply cannot find better and this is perfectly illustrated with 100 per cent Native Whey, which is factually the world’s purest form of whey protein. You cannot buy better because it doesn’t exist. It’s this type of commitment that has made Reflex Nutrition one of the most respected and trusted sports nutrition brands in the world.”

The remarkable story of Reflex Nutrition began while James was pursuing a career in professional windsurfing. During this time he realised that he would need to gain weight to become more competitive and subsequently found sponsorship with an American sports nutrition brand. It was while using and gaining an understanding of these products that James began to consider the possibility of creating a superior solution to match his own needs and those of other competitors in a similar position. The Reflex Nutrition brand was born soon after and has quickly grown into a globally successful business. “I think what really separates us from the rest of the market is the genuine passion of James himself and the fact that he wanted to develop and manufacture the products himself. All of this coincided with his father deciding to sell the business that he owned and subsequently investing some money into the idea,” elaborates Marketing Director, Julian Wright. “They initially brought a fairly modest factory in Hove and James and his family attended various trade shows to understand more about the machinery used to manufacture the supplements. It was something of a baptism of fire in relation to how to create a factory, however with his sporting and nutritional knowledge James knew that he could produce a product that was far superior to anything else on the market.”

Supreme quality
From its humble beginnings Reflex Nutrition has grown from a highly hands-on entrepreneurial team of as few as three individuals to a fully ISO 9001 accredited business that operates from a fully bespoke and modern manufacturing facility. During its early history the company quickly began to experience high levels of growth, historically enjoying expansion of as much as 20 per cent per annum and although the market for sporting supplements has become increasingly competitive in recent years, Reflex Nutrition has continued to grow to meet the needs of sporting athletes and fitness orientated individuals across the world.

The company moved into its current manufacturing facility in 2007. The two-acre plant is located in Woodingdean, Brighton and houses powder production, its own pasteurising plant, a bar manufacturing line and capsule lines. “This is something that I think makes us quite unique within Europe as a sports nutrition brand,” Julian observes. “The purpose of having our own manufacturing facility is to allow us to guarantee the quality of the sports supplements that we produce from start to finish. When it comes to the development of new products, James and the new product development (NPD) team will develop new lines and go on to specify the ingredients and formulation of the new product based on key research that incorporates the latest scientific studies and double placebo tested research.”

By working with a highly trusted and respected network of suppliers on a global scale, Reflex Nutrition has great flexibility in purchasing raw ingredients and formulating high quality sports supplements. The company also employs strict product testing to ensure that it provides proven product to its clients. “We have every single batch of our protein products tested in-house, which is unusual for a protein company and we employ our nitrogen combustion analyser to test the protein levels. Additionally, we randomly double test the proteins through an external lab and there is always absolute consistency between the recorded results,” Julian says. “We are also Halal certified by a UK based accredited company that works with Jakim in Malaysia. This can be a very emotive subject for some segments of our client base and in practical terms this meant that we had to avoid using alcohol in any cleaning products. We ensure that none of the ingredients that we buy are produced using alcohol in production or during clean-down processes. The absolute guarantee of absence of alcohol can only be a good thing when you are using products for sports and trying to optimise health.”

Proven products
Reflex Nutrition presently offers an extensive product portfolio that includes amino acids, bars and drinks, capsules, carbohydrates, creatine, health and wellbeing and high protein products. The company’s philosophy is to produce its products in house, aside from a few rare instances including its new range of protein coffees. “We currently do not produce our protein coffees in-house because to do so we would need an entirely different pasteurising plant,” Julian explains. “The development of this product came about in a very fortuitous manner and we worked with our suppliers to launch a pre-mixed product that is a recognition of the ever growing market when it comes to protein. Again, we work with trusted suppliers who care about the product to ensure that we can absolutely guarantee quality.”

While there are challenges within the market in terms of increased competition, Reflex Nutrition has a proven track record and an unrivalled passion that match its demanding pursuit of quality. Over the coming years, the business will continue to expand its presence within the UK and around the world, as Julian concludes: “I think the UK has become saturated in terms of brands and the different business models that have been applied to the UK market mean that where ten years ago we were one of perhaps 20 brands, we are now one of 200 brands. Inevitably that is going to make the UK market a far more competitive environment, however the quality of our sporting supplements and the credibility of being an English manufacturer means that we are incredibly well received in certain markets further afield including Europe and the Middle East.”