The brand, founded in 2017 in New Zealand and launched in the US in 2018, is looking to establish itself in the UK market by offering a natural approach to weight management.
The industry is beginning to move away from traditional weight-loss messaging towards a more holistic focus on metabolic health, appetite regulation and body composition, Sarah Kennedy, CEO and founder of Calocurb, told NutraIngredients.
“When up to 40% of the weight lost on GLP-1 injectables can be lean mass, the conversation has to shift from ‘weight loss’ to ‘weight health’,” she said.
“We’d been seeing considerable demand from UK consumers and practitioners for some time, many of whom were seeking us out at US conferences, so the interest was already there.”
Research into natural GLP-1 activation
Kennedy said the decision to launch in the UK followed research that gave the brand the scientific confidence to bring Calocurb to the market.
“What gave us the confidence to act was the publication of our fourth human clinical trial in Obesity Pillars this year,” she said.
“That’s the level of scientific rigor UK practitioners rightly expect. It means they can now offer a legitimate, clinically proven option for people who want an alternative to GLP-1 medications - a more natural route that works with the body rather than against it.”
The 24-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial found that participants taking Calocurb lost an average of 3.8kg, compared with 0.4kg in the placebo group. They also experienced greater body fat and visceral fat reductions, while preserving skeletal muscle mass. Previous studies reported reductions in hunger (30%), food cravings (40%) and calorie intake (18%).
Amarasate works by activating bitter taste receptors in the gut, stimulating the release of natural satiety hormones, including GLP-1, CCK and PYY, which play a role in appetite regulation, Kennedy explained.
“Calocurb is genuinely unique. It’s backed by 16 years of research, a $30 million investment and four human clinical trials published in US medical journals, all using our finished product rather than just the Amarasate ingredient,” she said.
“That depth of research into natural GLP-1 activation isn’t available from any other supplement brand in the UK, which is why we’re launching through the practitioner channel first, where the science can be properly understood and championed.”
Insights from the US market
Kennedy explained that the successful US rollout has provided valuable insights into consumer demand, market positioning and interest in non-prescription weight management products, which are helping to shape the company’s UK strategy while recognizing the unique needs and nuances of the UK market.
“What’s consistent is that weight health matters enormously to people in both markets, and demand for GLP-1 solutions keeps growing,” she said. “Yet a significant share of people don’t want to go on a medication, whether because of cost or side effects.
“We also see an important role for Calocurb in helping people who come off injectables, given how common weight regain is, so they can hold on to what they’ve worked so hard to achieve.”
Kennedy explained that Calocurb plans to become a leader in the UK natural weight health market by expanding distribution, strengthening practitioner partnerships and supporting the growth of the natural weight management category.
“We’ll start by building strong practitioner partnerships and sharing our clinical evidence, then broaden distribution over time,” she noted. “More broadly, we want to raise the bar for the whole category by showing what rigorous, peer-reviewed science looks like in natural weight management.”
