Breaking the Poo Taboo: Gemma Stuart on Founding Gut Wealth, Helping Thousands, and Changing the Conversation Around Gut Health

Gemma Stuart, founder of Gut Wealth, has made it her mission to break the silence around gut health and help those struggling with digestive issues.

After battling IBS symptoms for 15 years and facing the challenges of finding effective solutions, she turned her frustration into innovation. In this interview, Gemma shares how her journey inspired the creation of Gut Wealth, a liquid supplement that’s helping thousands manage their digestive health with ease.

From overcoming the stigma around talking about gut issues to achieving recognition in the health tech space, Gemma's story is one of resilience, growth, and a passion for making a difference.

Nicolle: What inspired you to create Gut Wealth, and how did your personal experience with gut issues shape the product’s development?

Gemma: I suffered with IBS symptoms on and off for 15 years and it took about half of that time to get a diagnosis. While researching gut health and IBS specifically, I found that there’s loads of info out there, but it’s really hard to understand or unrealistic to adapt for modern life. I was fed up with embarrassing toilet dashes, painful belly bloat and not being able to find anything in the UK that worked to calm my digestive upset. By engaging with IBS forums I realised people want products that work, are easy to add to their routine and are palatable. I couldn’t find any products on the market that did all three.

Nicolle: You mentioned that 1 in 20 people in the UK suffer from irritable bowel symptoms. What gaps did you notice in existing treatments, and how does Gut Wealth aim to address these?

Gemma: I’m proud to say I’ve helped 1000s of people with Gut Wealth liquid supplement.  It’s a premium vitamin, mineral and trademarked postbiotic formula in a handy sachet. Customers love that it’s 1, easy to take 2, tastes good and importantly 3, it works.

Nicolle: As a solo founder, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building and scaling your business, especially in the health and wellness sector?

Gemma: My biggest personal challenge when setting up the business is that initially, I wanted Gut Wealth to be a faceless business. Looking back, I still had some shame around talking about my own gut ill-health and symptoms such as urgency and painful bloating. But I soon realised that people trust and believe in my story and the IBS experiences I've had. I feel like it took a bit of guts to get over my discomfort and shame and break the taboo around talking about "poo". I can confidently say now that I've said and heard it all, and am very comfortable talking about tums, bums, and guts!

Nicolle: Gut Wealth has received over 550 positive customer reviews and a consistent 4.7-star rating. What do you think sets your product apart in terms of customer satisfaction?
Gemma: I think a lot of our customers believe they’ve tried almost everything - exclusion diets, mediations, apps and restricting their way of eating. With our sachets, we never over-sell what they do but it means we hopefully explain the benefits and I think our customer reviews do a lot of the talking for us.  We also have a lot of referrals which I was sort of surprised about - not because the product isn’t good but more than I was surprised people were happy to talk about their irritable bowels and share solutions with people they know it’s been a nice surprise

Nicolle: Can you share more about the science behind the Gut Wealth liquid supplement and how its unique formula helps alleviate symptoms like bloating and discomfort? 

Gemma: Our hero ingredient is a postbiotic which is a type of beneficial bacteria. It’s safe, stable, and doesn’t need to be refrigerated (unlike a lot of probiotics) I selected it based on the scientific papers, and research and also that I’ve taken it in other products from Europe. And… then worked with a team of scientists to create a supplement formula with other vitamins and minerals for all-round digestive health. 

Nicolle: How did winning the Med Tech & HealthTech Start-Up of the Year 2024 award at the Start-Up Awards impact your business, and what does this recognition mean for you as a founder?

Gemma: It’s lovely to get recognition in the form of awards, and it’s meant we got quite a bit of attention at the time, but the most important moments are when people have said Gut Wealth has been life-changing for them. Those moments fill me with joy. 

Nicolle: As someone who bootstrapped their business, what advice do you have for other founders, particularly those seeking to navigate the challenges of securing investment and scaling a company?

Gemma: A lot of the early decisions I made were because I didn't understand the different funding options. Similar to a lot of start-up founders, I didn't know what I didn't know. I've been on a steep learning curve - and the best piece of advice is to speak with other founders to learn about how they have funded their growth. I learn so much from other founders - there’s networking in every city so I suggest finding other founders and learning from them. 

Nicolle: You’ve built a strong following on LinkedIn by sharing your entrepreneurial journey. How important has community engagement been to your success, and what role do you think transparency plays in building a brand?

Gemma: I first started to share my story and learnings on LinkedIn simply because I needed a space to do that, to process everything I was learning. But over time I’ve realised that people buy from people and by being open and sharing the realities of growing the business and why I do it, I’ve grown a community of other founders and customers who follow what I’m up to. 

Nicolle: With revenue of £180K to date, what strategies have been most effective for driving growth, and how do you plan to scale Gut Wealth further in the future?

I’ve bootstrapped everything to date and I’m the only full-time member of staff, I know to scale I need more people to help me be able to grow the company and expand into retail. I also have some other gut-boosting products in the pipeline so need to secure funding to do this. I will likely seek angel investment to help launch the products and take on staff to support growth, so we can help more people. 

Nicolle: You’ve emphasised the importance of addressing the societal impact of gut health, including lost workdays due to gut issues. How do you see Gut Wealth contributing to a broader shift in how we approach gut health and wellness?

Gemma: 1 in 20 people have irritable bowels in the UK. For People that means symptoms such as gas, bloating, cramping, discomfort and embarrassing toilet dashes. For families, it means holidays ruined and get-togethers cut short. For society, scarily it means £3bn lost to gastro-related sick days per year. So chances are that you know someone who’s suffering in silence. There are a lot of gut health-related products out there, but there’s a lot of junk to contend with too. I’m doing my small part to raise awareness, break the poo taboo and also help people live a bit more freely from the pain and shame of poor gut health.

As Gemma looks to the future, she’s determined to continue her mission of improving lives through gut health education and effective solutions. With plans to scale Gut Wealth, develop new products, and secure investment, she remains focused on empowering others to live without the discomfort and embarrassment of digestive issues. Her journey is a testament to the power of turning personal struggles into a purpose-driven business. For Gemma, it’s not just about the accolades—it's about making a real difference, one gut at a time.

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Nicolle Knapova is a little bit of everything. She is a freelance translator, content creator and social media executive for The C Word Mag. She loves indie music and is always browsing through Spotify to find the next amazing artist to obsess over. Her love for storytelling means she’s always writing something and she’s not afraid of any genre. Her biggest dream is to be a published author. If she’s not writing her fan fiction, she’s writing her poetry and sharing it on her Instagram @elisecaverly.