I’ve only known FORTE NATURALS Founder and CEO, Brianna Meighan, for five minutes, but she’s already insisting we go halfsies on a vegan, bun-less burger and the coconut sorbet that she just ordered—and to my complete surprise, in fluent Spanish. The former fashion model and E! Entertainment TV Host, turned female founder and CEO, Brianna Meighan, is in Miami Beach for the pre-production of the brand’s upcoming TV commercials they are going to film—and although there are wardrobe fittings to attend, voice over scripts to review and locations to scout, she has no problem taking an hour-long lunch with a virtual stranger.
“I truly believe that ‘human connection’ is one of life’s most precious gifts,” explains Brianna Meighan, with her long blond hair flowing down to her simple, yet elegant, black top. “Taking the time to sit together is important to me because I have found that getting to know others, on a face-to-face level, allows us to understand their journey from a much deeper perspective.”
It’s that level of attention and humility that contributes to Brianna Meighan’s secret to success. In the ultra-competitive health and wellness industry filled with celebrity brands doing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and major household names reaching billions, the Miami-based, FORTE NATURALS health and wellness brand is quickly growing into heavy hitter status. Following humble beginnings with the company’s debut on Amazon.com in 2015, FORTE NATURALS is now selling 11 vitamin supplement products in select locations with the nationwide retailer: Whole Foods Market.
“My background is in Television and marketing, and for years, while working on-camera as a TV Host, I struggled with embarrassing skin rashes and red, puffy breakouts all over my face. I consulted with countless medical professionals and tried everything from changing all of my cosmetic products to buying expensive skin creams and serums, I was on loads of medications, I did weekly facials, laser treatments, and acid peels and absolutely nothing was working,” explains Brianna.
Then in 2014, the mother of two was diagnosed with severe Gluten and dairy sensitivity and was encouraged to try the food elimination test to see if by changing her diet to be strictly Gluten-free and dairy-free, if her skin problem would improve. “After so many years of struggling with skin issues, I was willing to try just about anything,” Brianna explains. Long story short, my whole family and I did the Gluten elimination test and we all saw health improvements on some level, even my two sons, William Hanna and Julian Hanna, who were just ages two and four at the time,” explains Meighan.
Amazed by how simple changes in one’s daily diet could lead to such positive health effects, Brianna carefully started reviewing all the product ingredients that she and her family were consuming. She was shocked to learn that Gluten was not just limited to bread and pasta, but that Gluten was commonly found in everything from salad dressings to beverages and even vitamin supplements.
“It was just so wrong, and I was getting really frustrated seeing all these quote-unquote ‘prestigious health brands’ claiming to be health conscious and safe when in reality, their products were full of junk ingredients and loaded full of Gluten,” says Meighan. Even before creating FORTE NATURALS, Brianna Meighan, who also happens to be an accomplished equestrian and long-time marathon runner, has always had a dedicated daily vitamin supplement routine (in between spoonfuls of the coconut sorbet dessert that we are now sharing, she tells me that she recently completed her fifth full marathon at the Beirut Marathon just six weeks ago and that she is already training for her next.)
“So imagine this, here I am, now on a committed Gluten Free diet and I realize that the very vitamin supplements that I take daily, and that I rely on to keep my family and me healthy and safe are actually responsible for making us sick because they’re full of Gluten,” explains Meighan. It was then that Brianna Meighan decided to create FORTE NATURALS, a line of Gluten free vitamin supplements for adults and children. In early 2016, FORTE NATURALS launched sales on Amazon.com and was one of the pioneers in the Gluten-free vitamin supplement industry.
Brianna rolled up her sleeves and put in the work to make FORTE NATURALS the powerhouse health and wellness brand that it is today. Moreover, she did it by herself. She did not have big investors and she did not partner with a giant corporation. Instead, Brianna Meighan, has self-financed operations, and it has paid off in a major way.
In early 2020, after her morning run, Brianna opened the Amazon Seller Sales app on her iPhone and noticed that her daily sales were reporting nearly $3,000 and it wasn’t even 8 am. Initially, Brianna thought it was a simple technical error with the Amazon Seller Sales reporting system, however, when she compared the daily sales report to her Amazon FBA product inventory levels, she was shocked to see that the daily sales report was indeed accurate and in sync with Amazon product inventory levels. Just one hour later, her Amazon sales were over $4,200. Perplexed by the extreme and sudden spike in daily sales, Brianna picked up the phone and dialed her mother. “To clarify, this was all happening sometime around late January 2020 and I just couldn’t understand what could possibly be causing this drastic uptick in sales volume,” explained Brianna. “Hey, Mimi – My kids call my mom ‘Mimi,’ so I call her ‘Mimi,’” Brianna explains. “I said, Mimi, quick question, so my Amazon sales for our immunity boosting products like my FORTE NATURALS Zinc 50 mg are selling through the roof all of a sudden, so I wanted to ask you what’s going on in the world that could be causing this? Any ideas?” explains Brianna. “Then Mimi replies with a cool laugh and says, ‘Well, maybe if you turned on the news once in a while, you would know that this Corona Virus situation is really starting to cause serious problems around the world and doctors are on the news, day and night, encouraging people to stock-up on immunity-boosting Vitamin C, D3 and Zinc 50mg supplements.” “I literally sat there, frozen in silence as she was telling me this. My eyes were glued to my computer screen, as I clicked the mouse to refresh my Amazon daily sales report over and over, every few seconds, and I just watched as product sales just kept increasing by hundreds and hundreds of dollars before my eyes. Sales just kept going up, and up, and up, with every click of the mouse —it was absolutely unbelievable,” recalls Brianna.
By Fall 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing and Brianna struck gold once again when nationwide retailer, Whole Foods Market, expressed interest in carrying the FORTE NATURALS vitamin supplement product line in retail stores and by summer 2021, FORTE NATURALS, launched 11 products in select Whole Foods retail store locations. “I’ll never forget the feeling of walking into the Whole Foods Miami Beach on Alton Road and seeing my FORTE NATURALS products on the shelves for the first time. It was a dream come true as a brand founder,” shares Brianna Meighan. Since then, it has been a steady stream of success for the local Miami, female-founded health and wellness brand. According to 2023 industry estimates, FORTE NATURALS should rake in close to $50 million in sales across its three sales channels with Whole Foods Market retail locations, Amazon.com, and its D2C online store.
As we finish our espressos, I ask the FORTE NATURALS Founder and CEO, Brianna Meighan, one last question, “What is your secret recipe for success?” Her face lights up as she leans closer, her eyes locked onto mine and she replies, “Well, for starters, I can tell you that it’s Gluten free.”
Written in partnership with Forte Naturals Health + Wellness
City Guide
January 22, 2023Graff Unveils Its Latest Bridal High Jewelry Collection At
