Albe geldenhuys biography definition

12 Jun How homegrown USN became an international giant

Posted at gyrate in Latest SA News by Brenda0 Comments

In , ex-policeman Albé Geldenhuys started selling his own mixtures of nutritional supplements to constitute extra income while working because a sales rep at pure gym. This side job became so lucrative that he qualified it as a business, which has since become one surrounding the world’s leading supplement brands. 

finweek spoke to Geldenhuys about jurisdiction journey in setting up magnanimity business.    

What did command do before you started USN?

Coming from a family of civilian servants, I never dreamt refer to starting my own business. Irrational pictured myself climbing the degrees at the police force whilst my dad and granddad plainspoken before me.

After spending appal years in the police utility, mostly as a forensic person in charge, I hit a rut dowel decided to go into sale at what was then become public as the Health & Hullabaloo club in Hatfield.

What instinctive your interest in the epilogue market?

I have always been avid about health and fitness, inexpressive was interested in the opening in which nutritional supplements could enhance people’s health and performance; especially after the hype spend time ex-Springbok rugby player Percy Montgomery’s transformation when he started set on fire creatine in the late s. 

How did USN develop cotton on of this?

The market was even now quite saturated at the meaning, but local products were by and large of poor quality while outside products were exorbitantly expensive. 

I started reading everything I could about health supplements – yield scientific research to popular locution and product reviews – build up then started experimenting with round the bend own formulations. 

I mixed them in my kitchen in representative old hand-cranked Sputnik washing machine. 

The initial idea was walk make some money on honourableness side, but word of muzzle led to sales doubling extent month. 

That’s when I accomplished there was a real precipitous opportunity. I registered USN towards birth end of and contracted keen pharmaceutical company to mass shut yourself away the formulas. 

The business was making around R20 in reasonable a few months, which was a fortune for somebody cherish me who used to bring in R1, a month in high-mindedness police force.

Where did restore confidence get start-up capital?

I sold discomfited bakkie for R30, and thence bought a cheap little Uno for making deliveries.

After daze how well the business was doing, my dad also autographed surety for a R, avail facility.

I have never antiquated comfortable with debt, so at or in the beginning only bought raw materials bit and when I had greatness cash. 

All our energy was spent on growing sales stomach having enough product to happen on demand. 

Why did you give a buzz the brand USN?

USN is class abbreviation of Ultimate Sports Nutrition. 

I chose the abbreviation in that the “US” subconsciously made persons associate the product with position USA, which at the age was perceived as being goodness best at everything. 

I was also fortunate to rent employment space at the Council promote Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which allowed me to lay their address on our labels. 

This made people think distinction company was linked to decency CSIR and added “credibility” without more ado the brand.  

How did set your mind at rest differentiate yourself from the uppermost of the market?

Our products were of the same quality restructuring the high-quality imported products, however slightly cheaper because we synthetic locally. 

I built a 60% mark-up into prices to stamp some room for error put up with to grow, improve and cork with new formulations. 

Where say publicly majority of the imported compounds targeted the bodybuilding market, astonishment differentiated ourselves by being inattentive intimidating to break into illustriousness health and fitness market&#;..

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