Detroit Native Becomes First Black Woman To Launch Weight Loss Supplement In The Vitamin Shoppe
Samia Gore reportedly became the first Black woman to launch a line in The Vitamin Shoppe’s weight loss category.
The 40-year-old Detroit resident launched her TRIM line, which includes plant-based metabolism drops, energy drops, and appetite suppressant capsules, in over 700 Vitamin Shoppes nationwide on August 1, MSN reports.
“I was not always interested in health and wellness,” she said, according to the news outlet. “This is an industry that I basically fell in based on my own personal journey.”
Prior to creating a multimillion-dollar business, Gore was a human resource manager for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
"When I left my federal job, we were making my annual federal job salary on a monthly basis for a whole year, " Gore said.
After having four children, Gore says she was determined to lose the 80 pounds she gained during her pregnancy. This caused her to begin researching healthy ways to lose weight and keep it off. She found that one of the things she didn’t have was a good vitamin supplement.
Gore says she tried multiple products, but none of them worked for her. She then began taking a weight loss supplement and had a few cosmetic procedures done, including a tummy tuck.
“I realized that after having that process done that it’s not just a quick fix. You have to find ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which is something that I wasn’t necessarily brought up with," Gore said, according to MSN. “As a child, I never knew about protein or eating lean or taking your vitamins.”
After nothing seemed to work, she partnered with Dr. Ruby Lathan, a nutritionist who cured herself of thyroid cancer by eating a plant-based diet. Gore and Lathan subsequently created a plant-based product that helped her develop a healthy lifestyle.
"The products are plant-based and our brand is plant-based because I wanted to offer to our consumers a clean product," she said. "I wanted them to look at our products … and know exactly what's in it."
Gore attributes her success to her social media followers, who began learning of her weight loss journey via Instagram in 2014. Once she launched her company, many of her fans bought her products because of her own body transformation. Even still, Gore says she had to work incredibly hard because of the lack of representation in her industry.
"Being a Black woman in the supplement space for the past several years without having space on a retail shop, I do feel like I have to work 10 times harder." she said.
Now that Gore’s products are in The Vitamin Shoppe, she hopes to be an inspiration to young girls who want to create their own supplements.