Edinburgh-based company becomes first fibre water to hit UK supermarket shelves

A Scottish company has made it’s debut on major supermarket shelves with the UK’s first prebiotic water.

Edinburgh-based company, ió fibrewater, created its “unique” drink with chicory root to help people get more fibre in their diet.

Co-founders Mohsin Laginaf, Alyssa Reid and Jay Curthen, all struggled with health issues such as such as poor sleep, anxiety, IBS, weight struggles and chronic pain and found that gut health was a “significant” factor for all of them.

After two years of development and research, the co-founders were “amazed” by the results they experienced from adding it into their diet and launched in May 2022.

The move makes Asda the first major supermarket to stock the 'gut-loving prebiotic fibre-infused water'. — The move makes Asda the first major supermarket to stock the ‘gut-loving prebiotic fibre-infused water’. Supplied

During their research they found that 91% of UK adults don’t get enough fibre which lowers the risk of “many chronic and life-limiting” diseases.

With that in mind the trio decided they had to bottle the ingredient to make it “easier to take”.

Ms Reid said that their goal was to create a “unique innovative, and delicious product” that was easy to incorporate into everyday life.

“Until we carried out our research, we all thought that ‘gut health’ just meant digestive health – we had no idea that issues like sleep, mood and weight were all connected to the gut.”

Mohsin Laginaf, co-founder of ió fibrewater, added that the team wanted the product to feel “just like water”.

In a “significant” milestone for the company, their products will now be available at 33 Asda stores across Scotland.

“Having the backing of a major retailer like Asda is an incredible vote of confidence in the quality of our drinks and we hope to build a longstanding partnership with them in the years ahead,” Laginaf added.

The new lines of ió fibrewater are a Lemon & Lime 500ml and Strawberry 500ml and will be stocked as part of Asda’s Food to Go offering.

The move makes Asda the first major supermarket to stock the “gut-loving prebiotic fibre-infused water”.

Ashley Connolly, Asda’s buying manager for Scotland, added: “We are very proud to be the first major supermarket to list ió fibrewater.

“The team at ió fibrewater are incredibly passionate about their product and we have no doubt that shoppers will enjoy tasting the drinks for themselves.

“We love working with our local suppliers to bring new innovations to the shelves for our shoppers and ió fibrewater is no exception.”