New Zealand-founded Healthtex is taking a sensitive healthcare product into the United States market, after years of customer feedback, pharmacy experience and product development.

The company was co-founded by pharmacist and entrepreneur Tim O'Donoghue, alongside Alice Delee. O'Donoghue's background in pharmacy shaped the idea behind the business: people often know what they need help with, but the products available to them can feel clinical, uncomfortable or embarrassing.

That thinking led to Asteroid, a self-care product developed for haemorrhoid relief. The product was first tested in New Zealand pharmacies, where Healthtex treated the local launch as a practical market test.

The company says Asteroid sold about 50,000 tubes in New Zealand with very little marketing spend. Customer feedback then helped shape changes to the product, including making the tube slightly smaller so it could be carried more discreetly.

Healthtex has since secured an FDA over-the-counter medicine listing and launched Asteroid on Amazon and Neoqura.com in January 2026.

The company is also building a wider self-care platform, with further FDA-listed products across categories including digestive health, allergy, analgesics and weight management.

Healthtex is now raising capital through PledgeMe to support its next phase of growth.

For New Zealand small businesses, the story shows how local testing can become a launchpad for international expansion. It also highlights the value of listening closely to customers, especially in categories where people may not openly talk about what they need.