Llanelli and Swansea businesses team up to offer weight loss clinics

A Llanelli pharmacy has partnered with Swansea-based weight management company The DA Group to offer face to face weight loss clinics to help people shift their pandemic weight gain.

The new initiative makes Gravells Pharmacy in Llanelli the first in the country to stock The DA Group’s DA weight management plan and products – after the pharmacy’s owners trialled the products themselves with great results.

Hannah and James Thorne, who run Gravells pharmacy in Llanelli, decided to stock The DA Group’s products and plans in order to give people seeking to lose weight an alternative to prescription products, which are not suited to, or available to, everyone.

Their research led them to discover The DA Group, which by chance turned out to be a local company, headquartered in Swansea. Before stocking the products, Hanna and James decided to try them out for themselves, having both gained weight during the pandemic.

“Like so many people our weight had crept up over the past year,” says Hannah. “We were drinking more than usual at the weekends to relieve the stress we were under and we had each put on more than a stone.”

Hannah has now lost 4 stone since January using a combination of the DA plan and a prescription weight loss product, while Jamie has lost 2 stone on the DA plan alone.

The DA diet plan is supported by a range of weight management products that can help with everything from cutting absorption of fats to controlling appetite.

“We liked the choice of products you get with DA, which mean you can create a plan that’s tailor made to suit you,” says Hannah. “We now interview the people who come to our weight loss clinic to find out about their eating habits, goals and what has worked for them in the past. This helps us decide which DA products are best for them. It’s great that there are different options for different people, depending on what type of dieter they are and how much weight they’ve got to lose – and the products are affordable too.”

Another reason for offering face to face weight loss clinics was to help improve people’s chances of weight loss success.

“Going and standing on the scales in front of a person can be a great motivator,” says Hannah. “When people come in, Jamie will do a health check, looking at things such as their weight and blood pressure. He’ll also calculate their BMI – seeing this go down can really motivate you to keep losing weight. Between us and DA’s online support and VIP Facebook groups, people can really feel supported all the way, and get advice when they need it.”

Founded in 2012, The DA Group grew out of one family’s weight loss journey and now has customers all over the world. It offers an easy-to-follow diet plan supported by scientifically formulated products. These products are GMO free, lactose free, cruelty free, Halal and vegan friendly and manufactured in the UK and France by reputable pharmaceutical companies.

The DA Group’s co-founder Emma Scrivener said:

“We’re delighted to partner with Gravells Pharmacy – it’s great that the first pharmacy to stock our products is local to us. We’re very aware that people’s chances of dieting success are increased when they have good support, and while we offer a lot of online support, many people will benefit from regular face to face support. We are now planning to make our products available in pharmacies across the UK.”

Pharmacies interested in stocking DA products can email Hello@theDAgroup.com