Our journey begins...

In 2013, Onutricia didn’t begin with a loud announcement. It began in the quietest, most intentional way possible—much like a cocoon.

In Japanese philosophy, there is a deep respect for the quiet spaces where nature does its finest work. A cocoon is a sacred, protective sanctuary. Inside it, there are no shortcuts, no rushed timelines, and absolutely no compromises. It holds only what is pure, essential, and necessary for true transformation to take place.

Anyone who has spent time in a professional kitchen knows you cannot fake quality ingredients; the bake simply fails. When Onutricia founder Licia Tavares stepped out of her pastry chef apron and into functional health in 2013, that exact philosophy guided her. If you’ve ever looked at a supplement label and wondered what you’re actually putting into your body, you understand the problem she set out to solve. At a time when South Africa had no transparent, accessible collagen options—and the only options were two imported American brands sold at prohibitive prices with opaque sourcing—Onutricia was built to offer something rare: unadulterated, food-first cellular repair.

Long before wellness became a trend, Licia knew what it felt like when the body runs out of fuel. Years of relentless kitchen shifts and chronic stress had left her depleted. Facing a wave of depleting health struggles and physical ailments, she realized that standard quick fixes were not addressing the underlying root cause.

Determined to restore her body from within, Licia began experimenting with functional nutrition—first by crafting clean paleo baked goods, and later stepping into the early banting movement. Driven to understand true physical restoration at the deepest level, she turned to the study of functional and cellular nutrition at the Institute of Natural Health in 2011. The insight was simple: your body doesn’t need twenty synthetic ingredients to repair itself; it needs clean, highly bioavailable building blocks. When her search led her to pure hydrolysed collagen peptides, she experienced firsthand its power to rebuild strength, skin, joints, and gut integrity. That breakthrough gave birth to Onutricia—a brand founded out of necessity, personal trial, and genuine healing.

The Meaning Behind the Name

How did Onutricia come to life? The name itself is a deeply personal blend of purpose, science, and heart:

O — Zero compromises / Zero nasties: zero wheat, gluten, soya, sugar, fillers, E-numbers, or artificial binders.

Nutr — Nutrition: Grounded in the proven mechanics of cellular Nutrition and its transformative power.

icia — Licia: Derived from Licia’s name, carrying its Latin and Portuguese roots of "Light Bringer" or "Illumination"—bringing clarity, honesty, and light to daily health, cellular wellness, and womanhood, guiding others out of the noise of quick fixes and into clean, conscious restoration.

(Pronounced: Oh-New-Tree-See-Ya)

Grit, Family & The Circle

Building Onutricia wasn't a corporate rollout; it was a bootstrapped leap of faith. Starting Onutricia meant stepping into uncharted territory. Licia was the first fempreneur in her family—the first woman to build a business completely on her own, starting with zero financial means and no safety net.

In those early days, every single cent earned was poured straight back into the business to keep the vision alive. It was deeply challenging, and there were days when making it through felt nearly impossible. But driven by a relentless passion to help others heal and transform their lives, Licia kept pushing forward.

What began as a solo leap of faith grew into a true family endeavour built on shared energy and late-night dedication. That hands-on care never left. To this day, the business remains grounded by family: Licia’s husband, Paul, manages daily operations and fulfilment, while her dad carefully hand-wraps each product parcel to ensure every single order leaves with personal care.

When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a profound collective shift toward preventive health, Onutricia’s unwavering dedication to purity struck a chord nationwide. The brand experienced exponential growth, firmly establishing Licia as a respected authority and industry pioneer in the Southern African wellness landscape.

When Onutricia stepped out into the vibrant South African sun, the cocoon evolved into something beautiful and continuous: The Circle. Look at the Onutricia logo and you will see two interlinked rings embracing the core of who we are:

• The Inner Ring: Represents that uncompromising standard of clean-label purity held since 2013—our unbreakable promise to you.
• The Outer Ring: Is you—the beautiful, interconnected circle of our clients, our dedicated agents, and our trusted partners. The value of clean nutrition only comes alive when you stir it into your morning routine, feel your joints, skin, and gut strengthen, and hand that confidence and vitality over to someone you care about.

Entering the 50s Club: A Wisdom-Led Era

Now thirteen years on, having stepped into her prime years with the lived wisdom of hormonal shifts and midlife vitality, Licia's purpose has only sharpened. The wellness industry is louder than ever, peddling airbrushed promises and exhausting routines. But vitality does not require a dozen synthetic quick fixes—it requires honest, reliable nourishment.

"I turned 50, and I completely lost my patience for the faux."

After navigating my own health struggles and pulling back into my cocoon to heal, I realized something simple: the wellness world is far too noisy. It’s full of airbrushed promises, synthetic fillers, and complex routines that leave you feeling more exhausted than when you started.

Healing doesn’t happen in the noise. It happens when you go back to the absolute basics.

Onutricia was never built to be just another supplement brand on a shelf. It’s the path I walked to rebuild my own vitality from the inside out—unadulterated, clean-label nutrition with zero BS. Pure collagen. Functional botanicals. No shortcuts.

Now that I’ve entered the 50s club and stepped into the menopause phase, I've realized this era requires a completely different, wisdom-led approach. It demands listening to the body in a new way—prioritizing gentle movement, restoring hormonal and cellular balance, nourishing the nervous system, and deeply nutrifying the body for all the changes every woman experiences. Looking back at perimenopause 8 to 10 years ago, I wish at 38 or 40 I knew then what I know now.

You don't need a flawless ideal to strive for. You just need pure tools to support the body you’re in today.

Find your path. Own your journey. "

— Licia Tavares