HER STORY ⟡ Loretta Reilly
Hi, I’m Loretta Reilly, VP of Marketing for Ultima Replenisher!
How I started:
I’ve been with Ultima for almost 8 years. Prior to Ultima, I ran my own design and brand consulting company working with clients in the health & wellness industry. As an avid runner (and former track coach) and general health, wellness & fitness junkie – Ultima was the perfect place where I could combine my design and marketing background with my strong interests in health and fitness and a passion for creating clean products that promote a healthy lifestyle.
What’s in Ultima?
We made Ultima Replenisher to keep you hydrated with the perfect balance of electrolytes and no sugar or junk. We obsess over clean ingredients. Ultima has a broad spectrum of 6 electrolytes and trace minerals, vitamin C, manganese and zinc for immune support and is made with plant-based colors and flavors, no sugar/carbs/calories and is sweetened with organic stevia leaf extract. And it tastes amazing!
What inspires you?
Meeting people and connecting to their story is what inspires me. When I first started out with Ultima, I wanted to do two things: First, make an incredibly delicious, clean, high-quality electrolyte product that gave people exactly what they need without any of the junk or sugar that other sports drinks typically have. And second, support people on their own personal health & wellness journey. As a former competitive athlete, the support and encouragement I received from track coaches was transformational. I wanted to give back and share that same valuable experience I’d had— so I became a high school track & field coach. Being part of a team teaches us so many things about life, but mostly it helps us to understand ourselves better and what we are capable of when we have support and encouragement. It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to be part of that spark that helps someone believe in themselves. When I started with Ultima 8 years ago, I began connecting to people everywhere who were making a difference in people’s lives and offering our help whether it was to give them product to use for races and other fundraising events or just to uplift and showcase their efforts within our Ultima community. If they were making an impact in their community and helping even just a handful of people, we wanted to support their efforts in whatever way possible. Ultima grew from there, built on that love of supporting people.
What's the biggest challenge you have faced?
Ultima was a very small company for a very long time. We believed that it needed to exist –we were the first to create a healthy alternative to sugary, artificial-laden sports drinks. I love a challenge and I’m passionate about making products that are good for people and planet. So even though we were small we worked together as a team and really gave every ounce of ourselves to bring the brand to life and grow to the bigger company we are today. It was touch and go many times, but we kept on pushing forward and always kept our mission at the forefront of everything we did — that doing good, matters.
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
You have to start with something you believe in. Something that aligns with your mission in life. Mine was to help people feel supported and encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle and find joy in movement. My two passions for fitness and healthy eating were key, but my deeper purpose to support and uplift others on their own journey was the foundation for everything. It’s what gets me out of bed every morning – excited to know that I am part of something that helps to make a difference in my own small way. We recently launched our Give Back program on our website and we are very excited about it. Going forward we will be donating 1% of sales from the website to the Clean Water Foundation and other charities.
CONNECT WITH US:
www.ultimareplenisher.com
IG: @goultima