In the meantime, another Alberta pharmacist is taking a very different—but equally impactful—path in the world of obesity management.

While running Redcliff Pharmasave with her husband, Melissa Hozack built one of Canada’s largest weight-loss clinics in the Ideal Protein program, helping clients collectively lose more than 50,000 pounds over a decade. But when COVID-19 hit, supply shortages pushed her in a new direction. “I was having trouble finding the products I wanted for my clients, so I decided to start making my own,” she recalls.

That decision grew into developing TruMe Whole Health, a health and wellness company specializing in sugar-free, colour-free products designed with weight management in mind. Starting with BCAAs + Electrolytes, she then added stevia drops, shaker bottles and then essential oils and collagen salts produced in Alberta. Most recently Hozack created carbonated beverages with BCAAs + electrolytes canned in Medicine Hat at the brewery she helped to found. Her line now boasts 45 different SKUs, sold across 600 retail locations across Canada, as well as Alaska to Florida, and stocked in some major distributors.

“We’ve had football, soccer and basketball players using our products, kids sharing them with teammates, and gyms and supplement stores showing interest,” she says. “It’s incredible to see how far this has gone, especially having the BCAAs now ‘Informed Sport Certified’.”

Although she sold her half of the pharmacy in October 2023, Hozack continues to consult with weight-loss clients across the country. Her family is deeply involved in her business too. Her daughter has shifted her university studies to business at Medicine Hat College so she can help with business operations and trade shows, while her son is busy studying kinesiology and playing football for the University of Calgary Dinos and has shared the products with coaches and teammates in USports (the national brand and governing body for university sports in Canada).

Despite the scale of her enterprise, Hozack says everything ties back to her pharmacy roots. “Everything I’ve learned about how sugar affects the body and insulin levels, shaped the way I developed these products. My goal has always been to offer healthier alternatives that support weight loss and overall wellness.”

With plans to launch new collagen extensions, amino acids and functional beverages, Hozack is determined to keep pushing forward. “Creating something new that can help people with migraines, or athletes looking for healthier options—it’s exciting to see how pharmacy training can translate into making a real difference in a variety of ways,” she says.