Skin deep health issue leads to boom for Devizes business
3:18pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Latest News
Retired chemistry teacher Kath Shaw was so disenchanted with the source of medicine to counter the distressing Sweet Itch condition one of her horses suffered, that she created her own.
It was such a success among her equestrian friends that she and her husband Colin created their own company, Biteback Products, one of our Local Business Accelerator finalists.
The couple, from Rowde, began by selling the Biteback product, designed to bring relief to horses and other animals plagued by the midge-born condition, on eBay.
Mrs Shaw said: “It started with my disenchantment with the products available on the market for Sweet Itch.
“It is a horrible condition caused by an allergy to midge bites. I bought the stuff where I could, but it was so expensive.
“So I thought I could make this myself. I have a background in chemistry and when I was a chemistry teacher I took a course in cosmetics. We use only natural ingredients, sourced in the UK, all traceable and of the highest quality.”
The products are also designed for similar conditions in dogs.
The couple have widened their range to take in other animal skin health products that are difficult to source otherwise.
The feedback from their sales on eBay in 2010 led them to set up their own website at www.bitebackproducts.co.uk Mrs Shaw said the mentoring they will receive from Stella Weeks, of Mainline Employment Ltd, will be extremely valuable.
She said: “Neither of us are business people so any advice we can get about marketing our products will be very gratefully received.”
