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‘It felt like recognition of a conversation women were ready to have’: Laura Dowling on building fabÜ
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Laura Dowling, IMAGE PwC Start-Up Businesswoman of the Year 2025, is the founder and CEO of fabÜ, a supplement brand rooted in science, simplicity and real-life health conversations.
Known as @fabulouspharmacist on social media, where she shares informative, considered advice on all things health and wellness, Laura Dowling is a well-respected pharmacist with 20 years of experience in community pharmacy. Not content with her already busy schedule as a pharmacist, influencer and mum of three, she felt there was an opportunity to disentangle the often-convoluted world of nutritional supplements with a product that was as straightforward as it was effective.
Aided by her background in pharmacology and pharmacognosy (the study of plants, herbs and mushrooms), Laura created fabÜ in 2022, a supplement range that combines mushrooms, vitamins and minerals to create tailored formulations unique to each person’s needs and “designed to empower and help people through their health and wellness goals,” she explains. Now stocked in more than 1,500 pharmacies and health food shops across Ireland, fabÜ has quickly become a trusted name in the wellness space.
[Winning this award] meant a great deal. fabÜ began as a very clear idea rooted in my experience as a pharmacist, but seeing it recognised on that stage felt like validation of the wider mission behind it. For me, the fabÜ business, my Fabulous Pharmacist platform and the Love Your Vulva live shows and book are all part of the same purpose. It is about making health information clearer, more accessible and less intimidating. To have that work acknowledged in a room full of inspiring women in business was incredibly special. It was not just recognition of a product. It felt like recognition of a conversation that so many women have been ready to have.
After more than 20 years in community pharmacy, I could clearly see a gap. People wanted trustworthy, practical guidance on their health, but they often found themselves navigating conflicting information and struggling to know what to trust. fabÜ was the first step in addressing that. I wanted to create blends that were grounded in pharmacology, thoughtfully formulated and easy for people to understand and use. As the brand grew, so did the conversations happening through my Fabulous Pharmacist platform on Instagram. It became clear there was a real appetite for open, informed discussions around health, particularly women’s health. That momentum led to the first Love Your Vulva live events in hotels around the country. Those evenings were honest, educational and empowering. They grew quickly, eventually becoming sold-out shows at the National Concert Hall and later the Love Your Vulva book. Entrepreneurship was not a sudden leap. It was a continuation of work I was already doing, just in a new format.
Spending two decades in the field gives you a very honest education. You hear the same questions repeatedly. You see where people feel uncertain or unsupported. That experience shaped everything about fabÜ. I was not building from trends. I was building from real conversations at the counter and from years of listening. It taught me that clarity matters. Simplicity matters. And above all, trust matters. People are not looking for complicated regimens or exaggerated promises. They want guidance they can understand and feel confident in. That grounded perspective has influenced every decision, from formulation through to communication.
My scientific training forms the backbone of fabÜ, but my broader perspective on wellness was shaped by life experience too. In my early twenties, I travelled through India and was exposed to more integrated approaches to health, where preventative care and plant-based supports were woven into everyday life. That experience sparked a deep interest in Ayurvedic medicine and broadened my understanding of how traditional knowledge and modern medicine can complement one another. It also led me to explore traditional Chinese medicine, which shares a similarly holistic view of balance, prevention and the interconnectedness of body systems. When developing fabÜ blends, I wanted to bring those worlds together. The rigour of pharmacology and pharmacognosy, balanced with respect for long-standing wellness traditions, whether Ayurvedic or rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. The goal has always been to create formulations that are thoughtfully developed, scientifically grounded and simple for people to use.
The online community has shaped almost every aspect of what I do. What began as conversations through my Fabulous Pharmacist platform on Instagram quickly became a two-way exchange. The platform gives me immediate feedback from my followers. I can see what they are struggling with, what information they feel is missing, what they want clarity on and what they wish someone would simply explain properly. That real-time insight is invaluable. It keeps the education relevant and ensures that fabÜ evolves in response to genuine needs rather than assumptions. The confessions I receive are particularly powerful. They offer an honest window into the day-to-day realities people are navigating, whether that is perimenopause symptoms, relationship strain, fatigue, embarrassment around intimate health or simply feeling unheard. Those lived experiences ground everything. They remind me that behind every question is a real person looking for reassurance and practical guidance. Love Your Vulva began as small live events in hotels around the country, created to provide a safe, informative and empowering space for women to talk openly about their health. The response was extraordinary. The community continues to shape fabÜ. Education has always come first. The products are an extension of the conversations, not the other way around.
The most difficult stage for me was getting to launch. fabÜ was not created overnight. It represented more than 12 years of research and development, all while working full-time in community pharmacy and raising three small children. That balancing act was intense. There were long evenings, early mornings and moments of doubt, but I believed deeply in what I was building. Another significant challenge was recognising that I knew pharmacy, health and wellness inside out, but I did not know business. I had to learn everything from the ground up. Understanding margins, cash flow, pricing structures, distribution models and what it actually takes to bring a product to market was a steep learning curve. There were moments where it felt overwhelming, but that education was essential. Learning the commercial side of the industry gave me the confidence to scale properly and sustainably. It pushed me outside my comfort zone, but it also strengthened the foundation of the business in a way that has been invaluable.
The confessions I receive are particularly powerful. They offer an honest window into the day-to-day realities people are navigating...
It has now grown to over 1,500 pharmacies and health food shops across Ireland, which still feels slightly surreal to say out loud. That kind of momentum teaches you very quickly that no one builds something like this alone. The importance of having a strong team cannot be overstated. Surrounding yourself with people who are exceptionally good at the things you are not good at, and being able to rely on and trust them fully, is essential. This is not just my brand. It is our brand. We build it together. Leadership, for me, has meant recognising where my strengths lie and where I need support. It has meant listening, delegating and allowing others to excel in their expertise. A business grows properly when there is collective ownership and shared belief. It is also important to acknowledge that my team extends beyond the internal structure of fabÜ. The people working on the ground in pharmacies and health food stores, the ones who stock the shelves, speak to customers, answer questions and confidently recommend the products, are very much an extension of the team. I value them enormously. They are the ones having daily conversations with patients and customers and standing behind the brand in real time. Their belief and support have played a huge role in our growth, and I never take that for granted. Momentum is exciting, but it is sustained by people. I am deeply aware of that.
The wellness space is dynamic and fast-moving, which is exciting, but it also means consumers are exposed to a huge volume of information. For me, balancing innovation with integrity comes back to discipline. Every formulation begins with research and professional judgement, but it also has to be practical and relevant to real lives. I am not interested in trends for the sake of trends. If something is included in a blend, it is there with intention. Innovation should never outpace responsibility. It is possible to be forward-thinking while remaining grounded. Maintaining that balance is central to how fabÜ operates.
Start-up life can absolutely blur boundaries if you let it. I have learned that protecting time is not a luxury; it is a necessity. For me, that means being intentional about switching off when I can. Time with my family grounds me, and stepping away from work regularly gives me a better perspective when I return to it. I have also become more conscious of my own health, not just physically but mentally. Rest, resilience and realistic expectations matter. Building a business in the wellness space has reinforced something I already believed as a pharmacist. You cannot pour from an empty cup. Looking after your own health is not indulgent; it is foundational.
Looking ahead, I want fabÜ to continue growing thoughtfully, both in Ireland and beyond, while staying true to its foundations. Growth is important, but alignment matters more. More than anything, I hope to keep building a genuine community around informed, open conversations about health. The Fabulous Pharmacist platform, the Love Your Vulva live shows, and the book have all reinforced that people are not just looking for products. They are looking for clarity, connection and reassurance. If there is a legacy I hope to build, it is one where people feel more confident in their bodies, more informed about their health and less intimidated by the conversation. Whether that happens through a supplement, a live event or a page in a book, the mission is the same.
Photography by Kieran Harnett
We’re interviewing each of our outstanding winners from the IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2025. To hear more about their career journeys, expert insights, and more, visit image.ie/pwc.
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