Xigo Health is an offshoot of AKL International, Ltd. (AKL), a pharmaceutical development company based in Europe.   The scientist behind AKL had developed a formula of natural ingredients which helped support the immune system.   Rudy Beeck, one of the principals at AKL was amazed by the formula’s effectiveness in keeping him healthy, tried it with family and friends and decided to form a company to offer it to the market.  

Rudy formed Xigo Health, verified the science behind the formula, turned what were foul tasting powders into chewable tablets and hired a major ad agency to help develop a brand and to select the best way to approach the market.   The clear decision was to market Xigo’s product through natural products retailers.   Xigo had a great product, scientific backing, a market ready formula, manufacturing, management experienced in business development and adequate capitalization.   What Xigo needed was a go-to-market strategy in the natural products marketplace and the way to implement it.   Through one of Xigo’s investors, Rudy was introduced to Robert Craven and the LaunchNatural concept.

Two of LaunchNatural’s first contributions to Xigo’s strategy were:

1. •expansion of the product line to offer a more complete immune support solution and
   

2. •(b) definition of moms as the gatekeepers of family health and therefore Xigo’s natural customers.  
   

With these definitions came the selection of an ad agency with experience in natural products, which helped design the company’s identity, including its message, website, packaging and customer and retail information materials.   Next, LaunchNatural assisted in the evaluation of Xigo’s manufacturer and selection of a new manufacturer, with better capabilities and terms.  

Together with Xigo’s management, LN helped develop a fully integrated ordering, storage, inventory management, fulfillment and accounting system using inexpensive, off-the-shelf solutions.   Once the basic infrastructure was in place, LN used its relationships and market knowledge to secure distribution through a national natural product retailer chain and to build a network of sales representatives to sell Xigo through independent natural products retailers in the major market areas.  

Concurrently, LN and Xigo’s management developed and are implementing a marketing strategy which includes retailer coop programs, public relations, sampling, social media and events.   Finally, LN and Xigo have developed a product development plan which will expand the Xigo offering into other product categories that can best serve the needs of moms and their families.