Perelel, the female OB/GYN-founded vitamin company reimagining reproductive health, closed a $6 million Series A financing round, led by Unilever Ventures, Willow Growth, and Selva Ventures. The company has raised a total of $12.1 million in funding to date.
WHO: Launched in 2020 by Alex Taylor, Victoria Thain Gioia, and Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, Perelel is the first OB/GYN-founded vitamin company pioneering a new standard for supporting women at every stage of their reproductive life cycle. The brand has launched nineteen products in three years that provide expertly formulated vitamins that deliver the right nutrients at the right time. Launched as a DTC subscription business, Perelel is now in over 250 doctor's offices, Erewhon, Revolve.com, and FreePeople.com.
In addition to supplements, women become a part of the Perelel community with access to vetted, curated, medically reliable resources and an embedded support network. The company's board consists of other OB-GYNs, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, reproductive endocrinologists, dieticians, naturopathic doctors, and pediatricians.
WHY: With this latest round of funding, Perelel will continue to grow its team to develop new products to support women through additional life stages and will continue to invest in research and development.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "Women's health remains a chronically underfunded, underresearched, and, consequently, underserved area. We saw in Perelel an opportunity to back a brand offering women high quality, carefully targeted solutions in a space that has traditionally lacked transparency and investment. Since then, the brand has consistently demonstrated its ability to resonate and support women throughout different stages of their reproductive journey," said Rachel Harris, Partner at Unilever Ventures.
"We are delighted to continue partnering with Victoria and Alex and remain excited about the future ahead for Perelel as it builds on its position as a trusted authority for its ever-growing community of women,'' added Izzy Hemington, Principal at Unilever Ventures.
"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 Alex Taylor, Co-CEO and co-founder of Perelel, and mother of two.
"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. There has been a belief (and an old boys club) that success meant the highest raise and valuation, which has just not worked out. We fundamentally want to do business differently by raising what's needed for us to have a successful outcome for everyone," added Victoria Thain Gioia, Co-CEO and co-founder of Perelel, and soon-to-be mother of four.
"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. 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," added Dr. Banafsheh Bayati MD, OB/GYN, Medical co-founder of Perelel, and mother of two.
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