It’s time to talk about utis (it’s not as scary as you think!)
Faraz Nomani, and Derek Oh founders of SZIO+, are making sure of that. Their brand, Utiva, launched Canada’s first home based Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) test and a clinically proven natural supplement as an alternative option to antibiotics for prevention. UTIs are rarely discussed in public, and Nomani says “The more I learned, the more I was surprised about how few people were talking about it. One in two women will experience a UTI at least once in their lifetime, but 40% will experience recurring issues. This can have a very large impact on their lives.” The standard treatment is to prescribe antibiotics, often times even prescribed as a preventative measure, and that a natural clinically proven alternative was clearly needed. Enter the Utiva natural supplement that is sourced locally and manufactured in Ontario. Utiva has a clinically proven dose of the bio-active: Proanthocyanidin from cranberries (yes, cranberries!) to prevent UTIs. The trials were done, the theory was strong, and Utiva was putting their natural option to the real test: hitting the market
Nomani recalls the moment that feedback started to reach them after launching. “It was back in October that we started receiving feedback from the customers. They would describe how Utiva gave them prevention, free from antibiotics, and they felt a real-life difference because of it.” Now that these powerful stories were appearing behind the already staggering statistics, Nomani and Oh were driven to grow. This is where Bioenterprise and the Seed Funding Program helped them expand their reach to Canada’s consumers and medical community
Nomani continues, “In the market for natural products you need three things: credibility, network and funding. Bioenterprise gave us all three. The Seed Funding couldn’t have been better timed. We were about to start raising our angel investment round looking for $500,000, and with Bioenterprise support it certainly helped achieved that goal. It is very exciting to see how far we have come in just one year!” But the impact doesn’t stop at finances. Bioenterprise offered a number of strong advisory connections from their network. Combined with the funding, this allowed SZIO+ to launch into the US market alongside attendance at the Canadian, American Urology and Urogynecology Meetings, something that would be quite difficult without financial and logistic support
Yet perhaps the most exciting expansion to come from the Seed Funding was the hiring of a branding agency to scale marketing efforts and introduce a full line of Utiva products. The agency is rebranding Utiva and is launching a new website with content writers to help spread the word and remove the stigma from UTI prevention and treatment. They have also developed an eBook to educate and empower the community of women who must collectively combat UTIs
“We have been grateful for the timely support of Bioenterprise and the Seed Funding Program as such commercial seeding programs are limited,” conclude Nomani and Oh, “ In five years, we hope this solution and message can be scaled up to reach people suffering from the UTI cycle worldwide.” That’s an easy goal to get behind. For such a prevalent issue that is kept behind closed doors, Utiva now has everyone talking
To find out more about Utiva please visit: https://www.utivahealth.ca/
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