Marjie Richardson and her husband, Kelan Smith, pictured with the son Wesson and daughter Charlie a few years ago, are offering their first Back to Basics weight loss clinic at their Davies & Dunham store location on March 14. Supplied Photo
Davies & Dunham Wellness in Lloydminster is poised to end their COVID business hibernation with a new online High Peak Nutrition startup program.
Both entities provide one-on-one weight loss and nutrition coaching, co-owned by Marjie Richardson and her husband, Kelan Smith.
The entrepreneurs have been operating virtually for months while trying to maintain a sense of community with their clients across Canada and the United States.
“After the lockdown, a lot of people are excited and eager to get out and do something for themselves,” said Richardson.
“We’re super excited to say that on March 14, we’re going to start to do everything back live in-person at the Davies & Dunham location.”
The company will hold a seminar starting at 7 p.m. about their new 35-day Back to Basics program, with a focus on responsible weight loss and developing a nutritional mindset.
“It’s about how the program works and the science behind why it works,” said Richardson, noting High Peak is simply an online version of Davies & Dunham.
Their business empowers people with a customized one-on-one approach to supporting weight management goals and improving optimal vitality.
The High Peak program works to reduce inflammation and create hormonal balance by identifying an individual’s unique digestive response to foods.
“It’s definitely not a quick fix, the longevity of it all, the consistency—that’s what we really strive for,” said Smith, who developed the program.
Smith is living proof the programs work as he lost 88 pounds coached by Davies & Dunham when he worked in the oilfield as an electrician and came home at night too exhausted to play with his six-month-old daughter.
“Our daughter motivated me a lot to improve myself to have the energy to keep up with her,” said Smith.
“I knew how good I felt and I wanted to continue to do that and help other people.”
Richardson also piggybacked on the programs to overcome her postpartum depression while losing 30 lbs. to boot.
“Eventually, we were able to transition through that to buy Davies & Dunham. It was a good transition to leave the oil patch,” explained Smith.
The purchase took place in March 2019 following their High Peak website.
Today, the company has more than 1,500 clients in North America with more growth expected thanks to a new line of Human Fuel supplements, protein bars and other made-in-Canada nutritional products.
Human Fuel was developed by Richardson and a few other business partners, notably, Jackie Dunham, a pharmacist in Lloydminster and the previous co-owner of Davies & Dunham.
“It’s a brand new supplement line that is approved by Health Canada. We use those as well in support of the system because we are making some very effective changes when it comes to hormones,” said Richardson.
“We want to be sure we’re supporting the system accurately with Human Fuel supplements as well.”
Richardson says they are thankful sales have been fairly consistent throughout the pandemic with the sense of community being the missing link to organic growth during the lockdown.
“We do notice that sense of community—which is why we’re so excited to open back up in person— it really does make a difference, just having people come in and support each other as well,” she said.
“That’s why that one-on-one coaching is so important.”
It all starts with Back to Basics, but it can be customized for that individual with a holistic approach to wellness.
“It’s about what works well for you dependent on your goals as well,” said Richardson.
She says about 80 per cent of first-time customers opt for an extended program.
“Once people experience the benefits of health coaching and they recognize the benefits they’re learning are effective, they want to continue on that journey,” Richardson added.
People can register for the seminar online or at 5704 44 St. Unit 114 near The Sticks.
