In an era where consumers scrutinize every ingredient in their skin care and food, one category has largely escaped the ‘clean’ revolution: over-the-counter medicine. Wonderbelly, a groundbreaking brand founded by brothers Lucas and Noah Kraft, is changing that narrative, one antacid at a time.
The genesis of Wonderbelly is deeply personal, rooted in Lucas Kraft’s decade-long struggle with bulimia. “I was bulimic starting at age 15,” Lucas shares with NewBeauty candidly. “By my mid-twenties, it was so bad I was ending up in ERs because of the damage I was causing.” Even after finding recovery, Lucas was left grappling with lifelong digestive issues, relying heavily on antacids for relief.
It was this dependence that led to a startling realization. “I never really considered what goes into my medicine—I just trusted it,” Lucas admits. “With food, I’ve been trained to understand there are cleaner options, but that didn’t happen with medicine.” A closer look at the ingredients in his trusted antacids revealed components he was hesitant to put into his body. The search for alternatives came up empty, and thus, in 2022, Wonderbelly was born.
The brand’s initial focus on antacids was a natural choice for Lucas. “We started with antacids because I knew them inside and out. I knew the people who were using them, I knew myself. It was built out of somewhat selfishness,” he explains. This intimate understanding of the product and its users has been instrumental in Wonderbelly’s approach to formulation and flavor development.
One of Wonderbelly’s key differentiators is its commitment to both efficacy and taste, offering medicine in delicious flavors like Strawberry Milkshake, Fruity Cereal and Watermelon Mint. “Flavor is interesting in medicine,” Lucas notes. “As a consumer, we’re told the flavors we have in medicine is the ‘best they could do,’ and it’s not. You should enjoy relief; you shouldn’t have to endure relief.” This philosophy is echoed by Noah Kraft, who succinctly states, “They come for relief, they stay because it tastes good.”
Wonderbelly offers real medicines that fight digestive issues with the same effective, active ingredient as many of the leading brands. But creating a ‘clean’ over-the-counter medicine isn’t as simple as swapping out a few ingredients. Lucas emphasizes the rigorous process involved: “Because we are a medicine and not a supplement, our products and packaging need to go through rigorous testing and meet very stringent FDA and health standards to be designated as an over-the-counter medicine.” This dedication to regulatory compliance underscores Wonderbelly’s commitment to safety and efficacy, alongside its clean ingredient mission.
The brand’s approach to product development is highly collaborative, involving a dedicated customer base they call their “Best Bellies.” These loyal customers are involved in every step, from trying new formulations to providing input on future flavors and products.
Currently, Wonderbelly’s products can be found nationwide in Target and CVS, making clean medicine accessible to a wide audience. As consumers become more conscious of what they put into their bodies, Wonderbelly stands at the forefront of a new frontier in the clean revolution. By challenging the status quo in over-the-counter medicine, they’re not just offering relief—they’re reimagining what medicine can be: clean, effective and enjoyable.
In a world where we’ve learned to question the ingredients in our food and skin care, Wonderbelly asks: Isn’t it time we applied the same scrutiny to our medicine cabinet?
