Published: 20:59 BST, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 21:16 BST, 21 August 2026
So, it seems we have come a long way from the cod–liver–oil tablets of our childhood in Ireland folks.
These days, there seems to be a sauna on every corner, protein in practically everything we eat and a powder, potion or probiotic promising to sort out everything from our sleep and stress to our guts, hormones and ageing skin – and it’s all homegrown.
Forget hemp–loving hippies and dusty health–food shops, there’s boundless wealth to be found in Irish wellness – from global investments, multi–million euro profits and corporate giants lining up to buy the brands promising to make us healthier, fitter and younger for longer.
You could say it pays to help people become their best selves – just ask Gary Lavin.
Last week Gary, the former Leinster and Harlequins rugby player and son of glamorous Kerry businesswoman Jackie Lavin, sold VitHit, the drinks business he founded 25 years ago, to Nichols, the British company behind Vimto, for €75million.
Gary, son of glamorous Kerry businesswoman Jackie Lavin, sold VitHit, sold his VitHit business for €75 million
Lavin, who owned more than 70 per cent of the company, is expected to pocket approximately €50million – not bad for an idea born after a knee injury brought his promising rugby career to an abrupt end.
Lavin initially went into business importing health supplements before developing a low–calorie drink combining water, fruit juice, tea extracts and vitamins (the health angle may sound obvious now, but it wasn’t back then).
The business struggled, came perilously close to going under and was hit hard by the 2008 recession.
He persisted and VitHit now generates more than €26million in annual revenue across 15 markets.
The spectacular sale is perhaps the most evident yet of just how lucrative our appetite for wellness has become but Lavin is far from alone.
The global food supplements market was worth close to $193billion last year and is projected to exceed $414billion by 2033.
And Ireland is taking a bite, with our supplement companies, protein fortunes, booming gyms, a surge in saunas, an insatiable appetite for athleisure and a seaweed swell.
Here’s a lowdown of some Irish brands that are in remarkably rude health.