Almost 6 years. More than 200 podcast episodes. A lot of incredible guests, a lot of questions from women, and unsurprisingly quite a few things that have managed to wind Kelly and Elissa up along the way.
For episode, there’s no guest. Instead, Kelly sits down with Elissa to look at how far the brand has come, what they’ve learned about the supplement industry and why, five years into running Elle Sera, they’re probably more sceptical of wellness marketing than ever.
And actually, that scepticism is a huge part of how our products get made.
One of the best moments in the episode comes when Kelly asks Elissa whether she was ever sceptical about Elle Sera’s collagen.
The answer is essentially: yes, massively.
When she first started hearing terms such as tripeptides, glycine, proline and hydroxyproline, Elissa admits she didn’t immediately understand why one collagen formulation should be different from another.
Her instinct was the same as many customers:
So she questioned it. Researched it. Sat down with the professor developing the formulation. At one point, Smarties were apparently involved in explaining the amino acids.
That story probably sums up the Elle Sera approach better than any glossy marketing statement could.
We don’t expect customers to become biochemists. But we do think the people making your supplements should have done the homework for you.
Elissa talks in the episode about her background as a journalist and how being trained to question, read critically and ask “why?” shaped the way she approaches product development. She doesn’t simply accept a manufacturer saying something is good; she wants to understand why it is good.
The biggest number on the bottle doesn’t always tell you the most
Kelly and Elissa discuss the confusion created by products advertising several different forms of magnesium on the front of a bottle. On paper, “3-in-1” sounds impressive. But their wider point is that consumers also need to consider the amount and form of the ingredients being used rather than assuming more names automatically means a better formulation.
It’s one of the reasons Elle Sera’s range has stayed relatively focused.
The goal isn’t to squeeze as many ingredients as possible onto a label. It’s quality over quantity.
And increasingly, that matters because the women coming to us are no longer saying, “I don’t really take supplements.”
They’re often taking everything.
Kelly describes customers effectively working their way through the alphabet of vitamins and supplements, without necessarily knowing what they’re taking, why they’re taking it or whether they’re getting meaningful amounts of any of it.
More supplements do not automatically equal better health.
That same conversation applies to magnesium.
Elle Sera Liposomal Magnesium Bisglycinate
Can you trust an award — or an influencer?
This is where the episode becomes particularly spicy.
Elissa talks openly about her frustration with some industry awards and questions how meaningful an accolade really is if products haven’t been properly trialled or brands are subsequently being encouraged to spend money on advertising and licensing award logos.
Her view is simple: she would rather spend that money on real customers than pay thousands of pounds for a badge.
The same scepticism applies to influencer marketing.
Kelly points out that people often assume anyone in the public eye talking about Elle Sera must have been paid. Yet the episode specifically discusses Abbey Clancy, whose public mention of the product came from genuinely using and talking about it rather than a paid endorsement and subsequently sent enormous traffic to the website.
That doesn’t mean paid partnerships are inherently bad.
It means transparency matters.
If someone loves something, we want that opinion to mean something.
“It has to fight for its life”
Perhaps the best line in the whole conversation comes when Elissa describes how a new product earns its place in the Elle Sera range.
Manufacturers regularly send potential formulations and new ingredient concepts. But her response isn’t simply to put Elle Sera branding on an existing product.
As she puts it, a formulation has to “fight for its life” before she’ll spend money on it.
That means asking questions, scrutinising the ingredients, questioning the formulation and deciding whether it genuinely deserves to exist within the range.
Kelly sums it up rather nicely when talking about collagen: it’s like panning for gold. Someone else has done the sifting, questioning and digging so that hopefully what reaches the customer is the bit worth keeping.
And six years in, that is probably still the best explanation of what Elle Sera is trying to do.
We’re not interested in having the biggest supplement range.
We’re interested in making the products we do have worth taking.
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Join Kelly and Elissa for the full conversation covering Golden Pill™, magnesium, collagen, supplement marketing, celebrity endorsements, industry awards and what it really takes to develop an Elle Sera product.
