The conflict began when ingredient supplier Prinova Solutions Europe Limited petitioned to liquidate Vow Sports Limited, seeking payment for faulty stock—a move the High Court later described as “abusive” legal action. Simon Stevens, founder and CEO, has now gone public with his experience, shedding light on the challenges faced during the ordeal.
The fast-growing brand had just won a listing in 1,000 Boots stores across the UK in 2023 when Prinova proposed it take over manufacturing of Vow’s Elite Whey powder—a key product line set to expand significantly with the new retail listing.
“It’s not something they specialized in, but they wanted to take that on,” Stevens said. “They said they had installed brand new, faster blenders which were to be used for this. We were to be the first to receive product run through these new blenders.”
After signing off samples, Vow received first orders of the product between December 2023 and January 2024, with one batch sent straight to Saudi Arabia to fulfill an overdue distribution deal and some product sent to retailers and customers in the UK.
Stevens shared that they were quickly alerted to product defects, making it clear the product was non-compliant with the contractual specification.
“We immediately had some concerning responses back saying that the packaging was broken, the product had a funny smell and a curdled texture when mixed,” he said.
Damage control
On being advised by experts that the product was likely over-blended or blended too quickly, causing it to curdle, Vow quarantined the remaining stock at the warehouse but continued to receive complaints about stock already sent out. Stevens said one retail client reported the taste was “horrible” and felt it was “unfit for human consumption.”
After Vow officially rejected the stock, Prinova collected the remaining inventory from the warehouse, and Stevens waited for the order to be re-fulfilled, in line with terms implied into the contract by virtue of the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
Vow replaced all direct customer orders with unaffected stock and notified retailers that an issue had been identified and that a new replacement batch was in production.
“That was the intended and expected process which never happened,” Stevens said.
After six months of stalling while Vow chased Prinova for new stock, the brand lost its Boots listing.
Prinova initially refunded Vow with credit for the collected stock, however some months later, the firm sent Vow new invoices requesting payment for the stock that had not been returned. Stevens refused to pay, reiterating that the product was not fit for purpose and that his company had suffered great reputational and financial damage as a result.
After some dispute over email, Prinova’s solicitor contacted Vow in October 2024 threatening to file a winding up petition if Vow did not make a compensatory offer.
A winding up petition is a formal legal application to the court to force an insolvent company into compulsory liquidation with the aim to sell the company’s assets to repay its debts.
It claimed that Vow owed Prinova £127,441.33 plus interest, statutory compensation and costs—substantially more than the value of the units not returned.
“A winding up petition is a massive red flag on your credit report,” Stevens said. ”All suppliers and retail partners receive instant alerts through platforms such as Creditsafe, causing unnecessary conversations and casting doubt over the financial stability of the business.”
‘Painful scenario’
The petition also halted any opportunity for growth, Stevens said, as his company was unable to advance new retail listings due to credit checks.
“We lost the ability to access invoice finance and had to purchase stock upfront while waiting 60 to 90 days for retailer payments,” he said. “I don’t know how we managed to get through it. Most companies with a winding up petition only have a matter of days. Normally your bank account gets frozen. Thankfully, we’ve got a great relationship with the bank.”
Vow’s bank extended its support by highlighting its business success on its social platforms and within its Autumn 2024 Trade Barometer.
The correspondence with the solicitors coincided with the brand’s partnership with Team Great Britain for the Paris Olympics, a period during which Vow should have been sending its Elite Whey product to the Olympians for use during the Games.
“We should have been marketing the brand and talking about the amazing things that we were doing,” Stevens said. “Instead, we were fighting for our lives.”
The business battled and limped along until a High Court hearing in June 2025 when the official High Court of Justice judgment stated that Vow had a serious cross-claim in a sum exceeding the petition debt and consequently the presentation of the petition was abusive. This meant that the Court believed the petition was filed not to reclaim genuine debt but to pressure or extort payment from Vow.
Prinova was ordered to pay Vow’s indemnity costs in the sum of £18,032.83.
“I’ve lost more sleep on this than I have done on anything else in my entire life—it was a pretty painful scenario to deal with,” Stevens said, adding that he has learned that bigger is not always better when it comes to client care.
“We moved manufacturing from a smaller supplier to Prinova believing that, as a much larger organization, they could provide security and support if anything went wrong. Unfortunately, the opposite occurred.”
NutraIngredients contacted Prinova, but the company was unavailable for comment.
