The idea of what became S. E. Steady gummy bars and Smith Enniskillen as they are now, was conceived in 2018, due to a converging of several factors, which included a lack of new, healthier, stress coping options; limited employment opportunities in the chemistry field in Canada, in manufacturing, particularly in synthetic organic fine chemicals production; and a lack of such production applied to the overall consumer products industry in general, stunting the growth of chemistry in Canada.

At the time, our Founder, Michael Holder, wanted to expand the use of his experience in the chemical sciences, stationary engineering, and teaching, including overseas in China. He recalled a topic of interest from his early university years in the 1990s, which was about simple neurochemicals derived from amino acids, a combination of both chemistry and biological chemistry, and decided to see if a commercial product could come from that.

Over the next few years, Michael used his background to complete 3 major milestones concurrently, in the development of S. E. Steady gummy bars and Smith Enniskillen. He used his chemistry experience, with a focus on chemical synthesis and production, to create a sustainable chemical synthesis production process, which worked particularly well for producing GABA HCl, as the hydrochloride salt of GABA, or Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, which is the natural relaxation neurochemical.

The biochemical, biological, and pharmacological aspects of his chemistry background, were used to develop the Gummy Bar formulation, as a new, healthier method for delivering useful active ingredients. Along with this, he utilized his stationary engineering background to develop the basic industrial plant design for the chemical synthesis process, which resulted in the construction of 2 small production facilities, 1 in Bruce County and 1 in Huron County.

The final product, S. E. Steady with GABA HCl, provides a day's-worth of GABA relaxation shot, in a single sugar-free gummy bar, so you can "bring some steady-as-it-goes to your day." GABA, or Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, is the natural relaxation neurochemical. S. E. Steady provides GABA in its water-soluble form GABA HCl, for faster absorption and action.

With the successful development of all of the chemical synthesis process and its basic industrial plant design, and gummy bar formulation, the work and perseverance resulted in a huge milestone for Michael in 2022, when he received his official Canadian Patents for S. E. Steady Gummy Bars from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, as patents C. A. 3132224, and C. A. 3153977.

“My product has exclusive protection via two patents, for the length of the patent lifetime. It’s the same strategy pharma companies use when they develop new commercial products. Incredibly, according to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, only 2,027 patents were granted to Canadians in 2021 to 2022, two of which were for my product, so that is a positive accomplishment”.

Along with the manufacturing and product aspects of the foundation for Smith Enniskillen, Michael also established the corporate business structure and marketing sides. He created the “lifestyle” marketing campaigns for S. E. Steady, which include video and print ads, social media, and packaging design, along with both the online retail store and company websites. “The business has been structured to be an all-Canadian manufacturing operation by Smith Enniskillen”.

“My company has also been structured for international expansion and protection. Working as an English as a Second Language Teacher in China, and visiting Vietnam and Philippines was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The experience introduced me to a different culture and allowed me to see the positive view of Canadian-made products from an international perspective, as they’re perceived to be of higher quality. So I thought wouldn’t it be nice to experience the international opportunity again, this time from a business perspective”.

Michael is both a university and college graduate, with Bachelor of Science and Honours Bachelor of Science degrees in the chemical sciences, a Bachelor of Education degree in chemistry teaching, and an Advanced College Diploma in Chemical Production and Power Engineering Technology.