INTERVIEW: Sarah Orecchia, Founder of UnBEElievable Health

June 12, 2017

I love learning about a brand on a mission to positively impact people’s wellbeing. And of course, behind every success story, there is always a dedicated founder who has put in tireless hours (and days, and months, and year) to deliver the best possible outcome for their products.

Introducing Sarah Orecchia from UnBEElievable Health, who developed a range of nutritionist approved supplements and natural remedies to help you feel good when you need it most.

I distinctively remember my first acknowledgement of bee pollen becoming a ‘superfood’ we can now accessibly consume. In fact, I actually heard it from the one and only Vicky B. Her tweet raving about how ‘tOtAlLy ObSeSeD’ she has become with this funky looking substance even hit the headlines – and since then it’s only gone on to grow in popularity.

But it turns out that bee pollen isn’t just a sprinkle decoration that adds a pop of colour to your smoothie – but a generous dose of amino acids and B-vitamins to promote boosted energy levels.

So, what is in the UnBEElievable Health formulas exactly? As well as the obvious bee propolis, they also include the highest quality natural ingredients such as olive leaf, matcha, spirulina and maca. The idea is that the blend of ingredients in each formula means you don’t really need to take a number of different supplements – meaning you can save money all while keeping your cabinet nicely clear.

Feeling run down? They’ve got a formula for that. The Bee Energised supplements can help to reduce fatigue and increase focus, perfect if you often find yourself in a sluggish rut. Trying your best to avoid catching the dreaded office lurgy? UnBEElievable Health are well on the case with their immune boosting supplements. The high levels of vitamin C are key for helping to keep your wellness in check, acting as a protective shield from any lingering colds.

But it’s not just humans that Sarah aims to benefit with her brand. The bees are also a huge priority. At first, setting out to support bee causes may sound insignificant to your life – but if you drink coffee, use cotton wool on a regular basis and consider yourself a chocolate lover, then perhaps you’ll feel different once Sarah tells us more about just how important our bee friends really are…

Hi Sarah! You’ve made quite a brand for yourself… What made you want to start Unbeelievable Health?

I was traveling between London & NY and seemed to always fall ill. I’ve always tried to steer clear of prescription medications and chemical laden over the counter remedies yet found it really confusing navigating health stores. I started to experiment with different combinations of ingredients which various nutritionists recommended, to help improve my immune system and found that a particular combination, with bee propolis as the hero ingredient, really made a huge difference.

I’d actually always wanted to have a natural health business and my first business plan out of university was to create nutrient enhanced bottled waters flavoured with fruit juices to target certain issues such as fatigue, stress etc but at the time I was unable to raise sufficient funds. People thought it was a silly idea. Then Vitamin Water was created a couple of years later!

I became determined to at last create a wellness business after many years of working in marketing and sales and becoming even more of a natural health fan and research showed there was a gap in the market for easy to understand targeted supplements. I worked and saved for years to start the business.

As I discovered more about the huge health benefits of bee superfoods propolis, pollen, royal jelly & honey I decided to create targeted wellness products based on ‘health from the hive’ combining these nutrient dense ingredients with other superfoods. I worked with a number of nutritionists & formulation experts, including a former director and formulator for Solgar to perfect the Bee Prepared immune support formulas and we were off to the races. We’ve recently launched Bee Energised with organic pollen, matcha and 6 other ingredients.

Our supplements are unique in that they only contain plant based nutrients which have a proven history of benefits AND are NOT usually found in a regular diet or multivitamin, meaning they can help optimise any health regime, no matter how healthy one may already be. The products are not stocked in nearly 1000 stores in the UK, Ireland, UAE and more.

Why is it so important for you to support our bee friends?

Bees pollinate 1/3 of all of our food and are responsible for coffee, chocolate and cotton as well! The bee population has been on the decline due to a number of factors including mites, pesticides and lack of food to forage on thanks to modern farming practices. In addition, the number of bee keepers has declined over the years as well, and they are crucial for honeybee colonies to flourish. Buying ethically and sustainably sourced bee products (honey, supplements, skincare) creates demand, encouraging more people to become professional bee keepers. We donate a portion of sales to bee causes & help raise awareness about the importance of bees. We can all do our part by not using insecticides in our gardens, cutting grass less often, planting more flowers which bees like, and letting wildflowers grow.

You can easily add the capsules to your smoothies, if that’s your vibe. Here’s a couple I made earlier…

So what are the main health benefits that come with using bee propolis?

Propolis has over 2000 studies on it’s use for human health. It has natural antibiotic and antiviral properties as well as anti-fungal, anti- inflammatory, and anti-tumour actions. It is a resin collected by bees from trees and plants and they use it to seal and sterilize their hive (beehives are known to be one of the most sterile places on earth!). Propolis contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals and high levels of flavonoids- antioxidant phytonutrients. Propolis helps combat viral and bacterial infections without over stimulating the immune system.

Pollen is referred to as the “only perfectly complete food” due to its incredible profile for containing nearly every single nutrient necessary for human survival. It contains  all the essential amino acids needed for the human organism as well high levels of proteins, amino acids, lipids, minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins and it is rich in flavonoid and phenolic compounds, giving it high antioxidant levels.  It also helps support the body during times of stress and helps increase and maintain energy.

You must be one busy entrepreneur… what’s a day in life of Sarah Orecchia like?

Busy! Having one’s own business is hard work but I’ve learned so much and really enjoy what I do. I am fortunate to have a lovely and supportive family including two teenagers, who are already showing a love for entrepreneurship. I am hoping the interest in healthy eating follows! In my downtime I enjoy cooking, traveling, design & gardens and spending time with family & friends.

What’s been the biggest lesson you have learned from starting your own business? Any advice you would give to those who want to become a start up?

It always take longer than you think and is much harder work than you can EVER expect but you learn more than you could imagine. The best is advice when thinking of starting a business is to see who’s already nailed something similar and read about how they did it and ask for advice. Many people won’t be interested in helping but all you need is one or two mentors to help you get on your way.

What’s your favourite ways to incorporate bee pollen in to your daily meals?

Bee pollen is great sprinkled on smoothies, porridge and yogurt. It can also be blended into raw or low heat recipes. The capsule contents of all of our products can also be added to any of the above as well as added to juices.