Her1 lands €5.5M to expand gut-friendly supplements for multi-generational women

22 Jul 2021 --- Her1 has closed a series A investment round of €5.5 million (US$6.5 million), which will help the female wellness brand grow in Europe. The Germany-based company, which focuses on natural and plant-based ingredients, also plans to develop new products for different life stages and expand its team.

“At the moment, we’re focusing on ‘working women and mothers’ with our existing and upcoming products. Next year, we will look into ‘menopause and beyond’ life stages,” founder Chanyu Xu tells NutritionInsight.

The company already caters to concerns like gut and skin health. New products will target hormone balance, mood, sleep and holistic well-being.

“As we’re developing our products on our own, we rely on data that we gather from our customer and community feedback, behavioral insights and market trends. Co-creation with our community is very important for us, so the new product categories are those that are important to our community,” explains Xu. Xu is a “serial entrepreneur,” having co-founded several food-tech start-ups with Rocket Internet. 

Optimizing English content
The investment will also go toward expanding Her1’s online service into new European languages. 

“In the last two years, it was quite challenging for us to keep up with the demand in our German-speaking markets, especially with a small team managing everything from R&D, procurement, operations, fulfillment to marketing, content creation and customer success,” continues Xu.

This year, the company has made significant investments in growing the team, optimizing processes and finding an outsourcing partner for fulfillment.

“Now we have the capacity to optimize our English website and content. That and the fact that we already ship worldwide will give us the opportunity to reach more people across Europe.” 

Know thy audience
Her1, which was founded in 2018, aims to be the leading digital health impact company dedicated to female well-being. 

According to Xu, women’s health, beauty and wellness are growing multi-billion markets. “That’s why it’s important to know your community – it depends on which audience you want to reach and how you can adapt to customers’ needs and improve the value chain.” 

She points out that her generation has different needs and values from her parents’. “Brands I like are not necessarily resonating with my mom. That’s why it’s important to adapt to the generational shifts. As a start-up, we have the opportunity to listen to our community, re-think existing corporate barriers and have an impact on people’s lives.” The company’s products are based on natural and plant-based ingredients. 

Major microbiome opportunity
The investment was led by Five Seasons Ventures, with participation from previous investors Rheingau Founders and IBB Ventures. To date, Her1 has raised €9 million (US$11 million) in funding. In the past year, the company has grown by 815 percent and continues to grow by 55 percent quarterly.

Her1’s products use natural, plant-based, gluten- and sugar-free blends made from locally sourced whole foods. They also contain prebiotics and probiotics to feed the gut microbiome.

“The more we learn about the microbiome, the more it becomes clear that it has an essential impact on our overall health and well-being. A healthy microbiome is not only important for our digestion, it also plays a central role in our mental well-being, immune system, skin health, and other areas,” says Rita Ugwu, chief medical officer for Her1.

Saskia Hoebée, senior associate at Five Seasons Ventures, adds that the fund was already “convinced” there was a big opportunity for gut health as a large addressable market.

“However, until we spoke to [Xu], we didn’t realize that almost twice as many women suffer from digestive health issues on a weekly basis compared to men. We believe in Her1’s vision to provide a convenient, effective and elegant remedy for an underserved market and help more women to go with their gut.” 

Women’s health goes mainstream
Her1’s flagship product is Inner Beauty, which contains over 25 billion active microorganisms per daily serving to support a healthy microbiome. Most recently, the company launched Gut One, a daily supplement to help the gut-brain axis. It contains probiotics and essential B vitamins for optimal brain and cognitive functioning.

In addition to powders and supplements, Her1 sends customers care packages and accessories to help create new healthy habits. 

Her1 is part of a growing movement to bring women’s health into the mainstream. Last month, Kindra landed US$4.5 million for its menopause offerings, while Rae received US$9.5 million for its women-focused supplements. 

Meanwhile, Pharmavite recently acquired urinary health brand Uqora to expand the “underserved” women’s health market, and Probi signed an R&D collaboration agreement targeting vaginal health. 

By Katherine Durrell