It was during a month of back-to-back RSV, influenza and rhinovirus that Nicola's toddler understandably became even more off his food than usual. He was losing weight. Mealtimes had become a battle. As a nutritionist with experience in a busy mothers' clinic, she knew the statistics – the average child catches six to twelve colds a year. She'd told plenty of other parents that. But watching it happen to her own child felt very different.
"I remember asking him… if you could eat or drink anything in the world right now, what would it be? He said a milkshake. And that sparked the idea."
As a nutritionist, Nicola already knew what she typically recommended to support immune health – both for herself and for the clients she worked with in clinic. Vitamin D, zinc, vitamin C, and probiotics. She ordered each ingredient individually, but quickly realised she also wanted something that would actually nourish and fill him up on the days he seemed to be living off air.
What began as a homemade blend – stirred into his milk each morning, disguised as a "chocolate milkshake" – slowly evolved into something more refined. She leaned into her clinical background and began sourcing ingredients she genuinely believed in: pasture-raised collagen for gentle, absorbable protein. Camu camu for natural vitamin C that wouldn't upset a toddler's stomach. Active B vitamins from organic quinoa sprouts rather than the synthetic forms she had long advised her clinic clients to avoid, particularly those with MTHFR gene variants. Vitamin D from organic shiitake mushrooms.
And zinc. "Low serum zinc is actually associated with fussy eating," Nicola says. "It was something I had seen time and time again in clinic." Because zinc and iron compete for absorption, she deliberately chose zinc as the mineral to include – leaving iron out of the formula so it could be supplemented separately if needed.
Then something unexpected happened. It worked. He drank it and loved it. He stopped losing weight, his appetite returned – and when the rest of his daycare class came down with the next round of winter colds, he seemed to get through it much faster.
She shared the blend with a few mums in her clinic. Then their friends asked about it. Then strangers started sliding into her DMs asking where to buy it. "I genuinely did not see it coming," she says.
Today, more than 25,000 Australian mums use Immune Protein to support their children's nutrition – often during the phases when appetite is low, illness is frequent, and parents simply want peace of mind that their child is getting something nourishing. The blend hasn't changed much from what Nicola made in her kitchen – because she never had a reason to compromise. No artificial colours. No fillers. No synthetic vitamins she wouldn't give her own children. Allergen-free. Sugar-free. And critically – actually delicious enough for kids to drink willingly.
"Every ingredient is there for a reason. If it didn't earn its place – it didn't make the blend."
Her co-founder Mitch – a GP – reviewed every ingredient and the formulation before it went to market. He's named as co-founder, but Nicola is clear about the origin: "This started with me, as a mum, in a kitchen. The science backed up what my instincts already told me."
