Subscribing, perhaps, to the Mary Poppins school of medicine, Jonathan Gilinski ’02 has created a more palatable pill. His Florida-based company, Capsuline, produces gelatin capsules in a variety of flavors and colors.

Upon earning his BS in Marketing, the alumnus trained an entrepreneurial eye on an industry where his family has considerable history. He spotted an opportunity to create a business around a common problem.

“There was a demand in the market for the ability to dis- guise bitter-tasting medication,” explains Gilinski, whose father and other relatives have been executives in the pharmaceutical field for more than 70 years. “I had the means and resources to develop a solution.”

This was 2004. Today, Capsuline produces countless thousands of capsules designed to hold prescribed medication or herbal supplements. Flavors include mint, bubblegum, grape and coffee; there are even chicken-, beef- and bacon-flavored versions for pets.

Thanks to a patent that makes Capsuline the only producer of flavored capsules, the company has a competitive advantage in a crowded field.

“There are three criteria that make our product stand out,” Gilinski says, “taste, scent and memory — the sensation felt after consuming the capsule.”

Clients run the gamut from major drug-making corporations to individuals who want to encapsulate homegrown herbs. Others are cost-conscious do-it-yourselfers, who buy popular supplements in bulk, powder form and make their own capsules. A pack of 1,000 capsules costs about $15.

“Bentley taught me the essentials of entrepreneurship and e-commerce, and helped fine-tune my business acumen,” says Gilinski, who credits the firm’s success to strong purchasing power, a keen commitment to customer serv- ice, and continual assessment of trends in the market- place. Down the line, he hopes to take the company public, but his current focus is on mergers and acquisitions.

For others with entrepreneurial ambitions, Gilinski offers this: “You have to take risks and seize opportunities, regardless of how challenging they are.”