Perelel secures $6 million for reproductive and prenatal health
Co-founded in 2020 by Victoria Thain Gioia, Alex Taylor and OB-GYN Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, the company has raised a total of $12.1 million and launched 19 products within the last three years.
"As a rapidly-growing female- and medically-founded business, we have committed ourselves to creating a more fiscally responsible business model by raising smart capital from partners who are experienced in consumer packaged goods and the direct-to-consumer space,” said Thain Gioia.
Willow Growth and Selva Ventures also participated in the funding round.
Expanding growth and life stages
According to a company statement, the business has grown over 200% and continues to double its revenue year-over-year.
“On average, nearly 3,500 Perelel capsules are consumed per hour, and in the last 12 months alone, the brand sold nearly 31 million capsules with a third of [our] customers returning for prenatal support through second and third pregnancies,” the company shared. “Continuing to expand in retail locations, Perelel is now in over 250 doctors’ offices, Erewhon, Revolve.com and FreePeople.com.”
The brand has also expanded into other categories, finding success with its Synbiotic Greens Powder and Sleep Support best-sellers, in addition to multivitamins for different stages and supplements for gut health and digestion.
With this latest round of funding, Perelel said that it will continue to grow its team to develop new products to support women through additional life stages and invest in research and development.
Gaps in women’s health and research
The funding round aligns with the growing focus on women's health including the first White House Initiative on Women's Health Research, announced last November. Other companies in the supplement space are also investing in women’s health as seen with Pharmavite adding Bonafide Health to its portfolio late last year and the Dr. Reddy’s acquisition of MenoLabs just last month.
A new report from the World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute makes the business case for investing in women’s health, highlighting that every $1 invested in the sector generates approximately $3 in projected economic growth.
"As women in the healthcare industry, we've pushed aggressively against the status quo to demonstrate that we can do better for women both by creating a better product offering bolstered by a mission to address the larger gaps in women's health and research," said Taylor.
To advocate for increased and improved research in women's health, Perelel recently partnered with The Hope Project, a research initiative led in part by Stanford University School of Medicine to uncover the causes of pregnancy loss. The company has also launched a Hormonal Hotline, initiated the Menstrual Knowledge Gap educational hub to advocate for body literacy, and provided $2.5 million in product donations to underserved communities through its 1:1 giveback initiative.
"As the only female OB-GYN founded women's supplement company, Perelel is committed to ensuring that all women have access to medically-backed care,” Dr. Bayati said. “Some of the groups most vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies are pregnant and lactating women, primarily because they have a relatively greater need for vitamins and minerals and are more susceptible to the harmful consequences of deficiencies.”
