BARRY SMITH
“Whilst researching an option for very poor quality animal feeds, laced with antibiotics, I realised there needed to be an alternative.”
ABOUT BARRY SMITH:
Inspiration really does appear in the most unsuspecting places; no more so than with Barry Smith. When it comes to the development of the gut health industry, you wouldn’t believe that the person to create the most saluted product currently on the market was a cattle farmer.
Leaving the service as a Military Nurse in the Royal Army Medical Corps, Barry began his career in farming. Throughout his 20 years working with cattle, he developed a high quality, clean feed made by germinated grains, using a bacterial cocktail to pickle them. The effects of this feed noticeably improved the animals’ health, inspiring the idea of creating a human equivalent. It really is an incredible brand story – and one that is definitely worth a read here.
As the Chairman of Symprove, Barry has taken the company to new levels, when it comes to clinical testing. Considering Symprove is the only finished product that has been proven to have positive effects on IBS and IBD, you’d think he would be allowed to rest on his laurels. Unfortunately due to the lack of education on the topic of gut health and ever changing government regulations he continues to fight the gut fight.
What is your earliest memory?
Dipping my hand into my dad's beer, while stationed in Tripoli, age 2!
Who would be your dream dinner party guest?
Graham Norton
What's at the top of your bucket list?
A tour with my wife, a route between Monte Casino and the East Coast of Italy, where my father-in-law served during the WWII
In what place are you the happiest?
In my allotment
What is the gutsiest thing you have ever done?
Motorbike enduro-race, when not properly trained, through the Surrey Downs
What has been the biggest hurdle to overcome to create Symprove?
Regulatory control of new technologies, and lack of education around the benefit of food supplements/alternatives to medicine for the nation's health.
What is coming up next for Symprove?
Just released latest studies on clear pathogenic control with Symprove
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
Retired
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