Elo Health
Smart nutrition company Elo raised $5M in seed investment to scale its personalized supplement subscription.
The funding round includes more than 100 operators and investors, including Will Ventures, Oura founder Petteri Lahtela, and Outside CEO Robin Thurston.
It’s Personal
Combining at-home blood testing, activity metrics from wearables, and AI technology, Elo creates custom supplement formulas for each member. The subscription service costs $99/month.
Beyond the initial screening and personalized supplement protocol, Elo members are paired with a dedicated nutritionist to review lab results, set goals, and monitor progress. Using the Elo app, members have unlimited access to their nutritionist.
Tracking biomarkers, members are retested every 90 days to determine any necessary recalibration to their custom formula.
So far, the company has seen strong results: In a year-long beta program, 95% of Elo members saw biomarker improvement within six months.
Supplement Central
As the trillion-dollar wellness industry expands, nutritional supplement makers are capitalizing on increased consumer demand.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the vitamins & supplements sector topped $137B in spending for 2020. By 2028, some estimates put that number closer to $300B.
Seizing the opportunity, last month, Athletic Greens, makers of a daily supplement shake, earned a $1.2B valuation in a new funding round.
Taking notice, high-profile acquisitions have become common in this space:
- Unilever acquired Onnit, Liquid I.V., OLLY, and SmartyPants Vitamins.
- Nestlé added Vital Proteins, Persona, Garden of Life, and nuun.
- Nature’s Way bought personalized supplement maker Baze.
- Bayer scooped up DTC vitamin maker Care/of.
Big picture: While 86% of US adults take vitamins or supplements, as we outlined in Issue No. 108, the safety of said supplements are questionable. Prioritizing personalization and efficacy, a new wave of supplement makers hope to redefine the industry.
