A MOTHER started a celebrity-approved Omega 3 fish oil business after turning to the product when she suffered post-natal depression.

Melanie Lawson said the fish oil helped her overcome the depression – as well as easing symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

After realising there was a limited range of high quality products available she started her own company Bare Biology, which is now stocked in Liberty and was used by Coleen Rooney during her pregnancy.

Melanie said: “It helped me massively. I’ve also had OCD which has really helped too.

“Studies show is can physically improve the part of brain that deals with stress, anxiety and decision making.

“But you can’t just buy any old fish oil. I found this out when researching products for my own family.

“Quality varies dramatically and when I couldn’t find a product that was good enough, I decided to make my own.”

Melanie previously worked in advertising in London and moved to Brighton when she had children.

She always wanted to start her own business and do something around bringing up her kids.

Her research convinced her that fish oil, which contains fatty acid DHA, was particularly good for pregnant women in helps babies grow.

A lack of DHA can result in poor growth, poor immune function, and inflammation, while DHA deficiency has been linked to ADHD, depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Many fish oil products on the market are not fresh and create rancid fish burps, giving a poor impression of the product.

Bare Biology, which is based at the Entrepreneurial Spark hub in Brighton, is the only UK company accredited by the International Fish Oil Standards programme which tests every batch to ensure their claims are correct.

It has the highest levels of DHA on the market with the oil sourced from a producer in Norway.

Melanie said: “You probably have an image of me fishing for mackerel off Brighton beach and sticking them through a juicer. Not quite. I did spend about a year looking for the best fish oil manufacturer in the world though.”

She still sometimes gets funny looks and has to explain her businesses when people ask.

She added: "When I first told my brother he was like really? Is that going to work?

"It’s quite random, but it’s a really popular product."