Shopping bag.

To someone uneducated in the area of supplements, hearing of and meeting Jules Miller, founder of The Nue Co. could be revolutionary. As an almost reluctant pioneer of the health and wellness movement, Jules has done something that the industry has never seen before. She has made supplements cool but more than this, she has made taking them empowering. By pairing potent ingredients with proven formulations, she crafts supplements for whole body health, making a real difference in how you feel.
The creation of a product often comes from the frustration of not being able to find anything like what you have in mind. Disenchanted by misleading supplements; Jules wondered why existing supplements on the market were riddled with conspiracy regarding the actual contents of the tablets and powders and why they were so carelessly marketed. Thus, The Nue Co. was born. The chicest, and possibly only, luxury supplement brand on the market. Dedicated to sustainability, at The Nue Co. they don’t use more than six ingredients, that are all ethically sourced, per blend. Making them, as Jules says, the next best thing to food.

However, launching in March 2016 was no easy feat. Due to the regulations around supplement creation, the Nue Co. went through a two year research and development phase to ensure that they were creating the “cleanest and safest supplements” that prioritised quality, testing and sustainability. Clinically studied and ethically sourced, their ingredients ensure effective, sustainable products. “There’s a lot that happens with supplement companies that goes completely under the radar” she tells me, but I am quickly assured that everything The Nue Co. does is done to the highest possible standard.

From an always needed mid-day energy boost, to a way to de-bloat after a large meal, Jules’ products will ensure that your body stays balanced at all times. Jules and The Nue Co. team believe that “taking care of your health is as much an art as it is a science, which is why we practice both.” This week, walk the tight-rope of wellness right, with Jules Miller as your guide.

Semaine:You studied philosophy at university, how has that influenced the way you think about wellness and the products you create today?
Jules:People are really starting to care about the products that they’re putting on their skin, are they organic, are they non-toxic, are they effective? When you compare that relationship with the relationship that we have had traditionally with our supplements it’s like black and white, people don’t know what’s in them, they don’t care about the brand, they don’t have a connection to the brand or the brand philosophy. They might be eating organic food, but they’re still consuming pills from Holland Barrett that are made from chemicals. I have a fascination with the philosophy of the ritual, and I guess it probably did originate from philosophy actually… from back in the day.

Semaine:How did this interest in wellness and philosophy turn into supplements and pharmaceuticals for you?
Jules:Pharmaceuticals sort of run in my family, so my grandfather was a pharmacist and he then became a lecturer at Cambridge university, and he dedicated his whole life to vitamins and supplements and was even a part of the development team for vitamin B12, but he actually hates taking vitamins and supplements, well now he’s taking my products. I think the problem with supplements is that 50% of the ingredients that you’re consuming through supplements don’t have to be there. They serve no other purpose than to be a preservative, a filler or a sugar. So you’re attempting to consume something that is going to improve your health, but you’re actually consuming all of these naughty things that shouldn’t be there. The other half of the problem is that the active ingredient, something like vitamin C is extremely highly processed, so when you take a vitamin C it’s really hard for your body to digest, which is why people feel nauseous when they take vitamins on an empty stomach. Pharmaceuticals sort of run in my family, but what really interested me was how overcrowded the market was and how ripe it was for somebody to disrupt it.

Semaine:How is The Nue Co. disruptive?
Jules:Our main objective is that we are trying to change the category and we want to be the brand that changes the way people think, feel and consume supplements, and that is really exciting; leaving our mark on the world a little bit. We don’t use more than six ingredients per blend, they are all sustainably sourced, it’s completely sustainable, we pitch them out as basically the next best thing to food! Eat your food, that’s the main message but if you can’t, this is going to be the next best thing. Nothing annoys me more than consuming rubbish. When I am consuming sugar, and all those other naughty things that I enjoy, I want it to be through things like chocolate or a glass of wine. Not by it creeping into my diet through pills and supplements.

Semaine:Would you say that supplements are essential or transformative?
Jules:I would not say that they are essential if you have a good diet. People act like this world of food, supplements and nutrition is so complicated, and I just don’t think that it has to be. I try to eat natural food most of the time and that’s my rule. I know that if something has come from a packet it is not going to be as good for me as something that has come from the ground. That’s how I eat most of the time, but then when I want to eat a bowl of pasta I refuse to feel guilty about it, but I’m just not going to do it every day of the week because I know my body doesn’t feel good after doing that. I think we need to debunk things and just say that we all need to try and eat natural food most of the time, enjoy life and not stress about it too much. I use my experience in the last few months as somebody who does need to be using supplements more regularly, and launching a company that is growing at a scale that we never predicted. It’s so exciting but it transforms your life. I run off of adrenaline all the time and that has really affected how hungry I am, and as much as I know that it’ll impact my energy levels and it’s good for me to commit to having breakfast every single day, the truth is that I can’t sometimes; sometimes I just don’t want to. I just want to wake up and have a coffee and run out the door. I’ve been supplementing with all five products at the moment. Listen to your body, it’s not normal for you to feel exhausted every morning when you wake up, so if you feel like that there’s probably something that you need to address. Try and eat a balanced diet, but if you can’t then fill in the gaps with something that is as natural as our products.

Semaine:Do you think you’d still have your own business if you didn’t start a supplement business?
Jules:Yes, but only if it was something that was going to make a lot of noise. Our strapline is “not what you expect”. That’s been something that I, and everyone working for the company, really live by. People might underestimate what we’re capable of because we’re young women that like to have a giggle and not take life too seriously, but we want to do something that is going to change the industry in some way. It starts off with a product that proves that wellness can be credible, and can use science effectively. But when you look at our packaging, we’re trying to prove that you can be luxurious and beautiful, but also be sustainable, which is why we limit the use of plastic in our packaging. I would have always had my own company, but I know it would have always had to be something really meaningful otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.

Semaine:There has been a massive boom in the wellness industry recently, and you’ve seen it firsthand, is it all as it seems?
Jules:What’s interesting is that I’ve been both in and out of the wellness industry and I’ve also seen it in the US vs the UK and it is completely different. Five years ago, when everything started to explode here I actually did have really bad IBS, and in response to that was so much of the information that is coming out from bloggers and other brands, I think I latched on to a lot of information that really did me no good. So I stopped eating sugar, dairy and started consuming every supplement under the sun that could potentially help with bloating. It was doing me absolutely no good. I was still consuming dairy, sugar, wheat but just through those supplements that I was buying in Holland & Barrett, so I just stopped everything and re-assessed all of the information that was given to me. Then I went back to the original philosophy that me and my family have always had which is don’t eat food out of packets, just eat food that comes from the ground. I think it is unfair to critique the wellness industry in the way that the masses are doing so, although I can at times be one of its biggest critics. Unfortunately in the UK it has become a faddy trend, and that’s shit but it is taking over from other faddy trends when it comes to food. It’s taken over from the Dukan diet, the cabbage soup diet… It’s taken over from some really awful awful things. I think it can be destructive for certain individuals, but my point is that if they weren’t latching on to this craze, they would be latching on to another food craze which is probably worse for their health. I also think it’s made everybody a little bit nuts. I always say to people that wellness starts in the brain rather than in the belly. You could eat a bowl of kale and if you’re going to obsess about it and feel guilty, and just have this weird perception of well being, I don’t believe that you are going to be well. If you are just living life and eating the way that you think your body responds best to, that to me is being well.

Semaine:What philosophy do you live by?
Jules: I live by this golden rule. If it’s not absolutely incredible and the best, it’s shit and there’s nothing in between this. We have never ever ever gone for second best, with anything that we’ve done. Whether it’s the retailer that we’re launching with, or the publications that we talk with, like how we announced our launch through Vogue; they have to be the best. All of the people I hire, I have pinpointed that I wanted to work with them, I still do this, I have no back ups and they are my number ones. I think people assume that when you start out and you’re a start-up you have to aim small and climb up, and I just don’t believe in that. I just think go for the best and try to close it. The mantra is if it’s not amazing, it’s shit.

By Kezia Navey for Semaine.