WHAT started out as a venture to extricate herself and family from the fangs of poverty has to date led entrepreneur and CEO Nichelle Nembhard to transform thousands of lives worldwide with herbal remedies created by her company, The Healthy Woman.

With only $6000 dollars in capital, high ambitions, and self-taught skills, the budding entreprenuer has, over a three year period, transitioned her company to become a multimillion-dollar business supported by a growing network of clients and widely sought after natural supplements.

"The Healthy Woman was started to provide financial support for my family, however once the business started I fell in love with the feeling of helping others after seeing the joy that it brought to them. We manufacture herbal supplements and teas that treat various reproductive and hormonal illnesses such as PCOS, fibroids, ovarian cysts, blocked fallopian tubes, infertility, vaginal infections and others," Nembhard told the Jamaica Observer of the three-year-old company.

Not your regular concoctions, the supplements manufactured by The Healthy Woman,Nembhard said, are naturally safe, tried and proven — and specifically developed to treat a wide range of issues related to the reproductive health of humans. Primarily targeted at women, the company also develops products that seek to treat sensitive male issues such as erectile dysfunction and low sperm count.

"Our advantage is that we are offering 100 per cent natural, USDA [United States Department of Agriculture] organic herbs to treat issues that many people were told there is no solution for. We are cost-effective and more affordable and the side effects of our products are little to none, thereby providing safer and more affordable solutions geared towards improving the overall health of people, administered as effective alternatives to surgery and pharmaceutical drugs," the entrepreneur stated.

Boasting about the strong demand for her products locally and overseas, Nembhard credits the potency of the supplements which she said have, over the last few years, helped more than 28,000 persons worldwide to live a more comfortable life through herbal healing, as well as aiding in the conception and baby-making process for over 2700 couples.

The operation, which she said has to date been ably managed by herself and a team of four employees, has been making steady strides as it carves out a name for itself in the herbal supplements market.

Having been able to invest in the proper equipment needed for production along with other labelling and branding infrastructure, the CEO, now focused on the next phase of growth, expressed sheer optimism about the future plans of the company which she started in 2020.

Having grown from strength to strength since its launch the business, according to the CEO, today enjoys revenue growth of almost 70 per cent.

"The plan is to add products to cater for women who have given birth so we are therefore moving to have lactation and post-partum supplements within the next few years," Nembhard said in outlining some other short-term plans, indicating also that the business — which has been outgrowing its current space — will in the longer term benefit greatly from future expansion activities.

Currently operating from a physical store at Rajmaville Plaza located on the Hellshire main road in Portmore, St Catherine, the CEO said the aim over the next three to five years is to set up at least three new locations across Mandeville, Ocho Rios and Kingston. The company, through its website, also allows for the sale of products to a large number of clients locally and overseas as well as through a range of independent distributors of the products.

"Based on our rapid growth momentum there are also some very ambitious plans to further grow the business as we push more of our products in the overseas market. The ultimate vision is to run my own chain of herbal pharmacies as I multiply impact far beyond the 28,000 lives I've been able to transform thus far," Nembhard said.