Charlotte Ali came up with the idea for Rheal in 2017 after struggling with her health as a newly diagnosed coeliac. Nothing she tried made a difference so she came up with a solution of her own. Charlotte and Sean Ali, who married in 2023, set up the business – initially known as Super U – in South Shields in 2017 after the then-students hunted down natural ingredients to help improve Charlotte’s health. After a successful pitch on Dragons’ Den, they ultimately walked away from a joint deal agreed with Peter Jones and Tej Lalvani and instead took to crowdfunding platform Seedrs, where they raised £1m. In the last three years the company has generated £50m+ in sales.
