Sydney pharmacists and sisters Sally Tadros and Cyndi Khawaja have won the Manufacturing category at the 2026 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards, with their company Vitaceuticals recognised for its Australian-made health product range.
According to Vitaceuticals, the business developed from the founders’ work at Sydney compounding pharmacies, where they identified concerns among women using standard iron supplements, including nausea and stomach discomfort. The sisters subsequently developed a gentler iron formula before making it commercially available following demand from customers.
“We never set out to build a supplement company,” Vitaceuticals co-founder Sally Tadros said. “We set out to fix one problem for the women standing in front of us because nobody else was fixing it.”
Vitaceuticals said its product range has since expanded beyond iron supplements to include products targeting sleep, energy, heart, weight, joint and women’s health.
Co-founder Cyndi Khawaja said the founders’ pharmacy background continues to influence how the products are developed.
“Being pharmacists changes how you build a product,” Khawaja said. “We aren’t chasing the ingredient of the month. We ask what the evidence says, because we still think of the person taking it as our patient.”
The company said its products continue to be developed and manufactured in Australia, with production carried out to pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.
Vitaceuticals reported that more than 100,000 bottles of its original iron formula are produced annually, while more than one million products across its range are sold each year. The company said its products are 100 per cent Australian manufactured.
Tadros said the award recognised the broader group involved in developing and growing the business.
“This award belongs to our team, families, pharmacy community and every customer who trusted us,” she said. “We are proud a product made for a handful of Sydney women is now made here for the whole country.”
Vitaceuticals is operated by Pharmacy Healthcare Pty Ltd and is based in Sydney. The company develops pharmacist-led health products, including MagZorb, with its products manufactured in Australia to GMP standards.
