Minerva Research Labs, a London-based beauty company, has lost a £3.6 million tax dispute after unsuccessfully arguing that its collagen supplement products should be classified as food rather than medicine. Judge Anne Redston of the First-tier Tribunal rejected the company's bid to reclaim VAT paid since 2018, concluding that the products were marketed and positioned more like medicines than consumable food.

Founded in 2009 by entrepreneur Tony Sanguinetti, Minerva generates £16 million in annual turnover and produces the UK's best-selling collagen drink, Gold Collagen Pure, made from hydrolysed collagen derived from fish scales and cow hides. The judge determined that the products are marketed as daily "doses" for cosmetic and anti-ageing benefits rather than as meals or snacks, are sold separately from food products, and therefore do not qualify as "food for human consumption" eligible for zero VAT rating.