Care/of, a leading wellness brand making healthy living easier, today announced that it has raised $29 million in Series B funding led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. Additional participants include existing investors Goodwater Capital, Juxtapose, RRE Ventures, and Tusk Ventures, along with Beth Kaplan, the former President of GNC, and Doug Hudson, former CEO of the Smile Direct Club. Ms. Kaplan will also join the Care/of Board of Directors.
Launched in November 2016, Care/of seeks to upend the $39 billion vitamin industry by offering a new seamless, personalized approach to consumers shopping for vitamins. The company’s innovative platform recommends a specific mix of vitamins and supplements tailored to each user’s individual health goals, lifestyle and values. To build each pack, users answer a simple set of questions about their lifestyle, diet, routines, health history and future goals, and the company delivers a monthly box of specifically tailored packs directly to customers’ doors. The company’s growth is also attributed to its success in tapping into the millennial consumer’s desire for transparency, honesty, personalization – and its Instagrammable packaging
Care/of plans to use this new round of capital to grow beyond its core vitamin offering towards a broader vision of a truly personalized and holistic health and wellness experience. Craig Elbert, CEO and co-founder, added, “We’re focused on building innovative digital tools to support and complement new product offerings that help users reach their health goals. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on.” The company continues to be one of the most exciting in the direct-to-consumer health and wellness space and its latest round of financing comes at a time when sales have slowed for traditional brick and mortar retailers in the supplement industry.
“Care/of combines data with a customer-centric orientation to improve quality, trust and transparency with the consumer,” said Christopher Dawe, Co-head of Goldman Sachs Investment Partners venture capital & growth equity team. “We are excited to support the company’s goal of bringing personalization and technology to build a leading wellness brand.”
“I’m tremendously excited about what Care/of is doing,” said Beth Kaplan. “They’re engaging the customer with digital experiences and bringing a fresh honesty in a way that sets them apart from the broader industry.”
Care/of has seen significant brand growth since its launch; with current revenue at seven times its level at the time of the company’s Series A round last year. The company has expanded its line of supplements since launch to include additional supplements like a prenatal offering as well as a new category of products, Quick Sticks, supplements in powder form. Its proprietary formulations of products are developed by its in-house research and development team.
About Care/of
Care/of is a direct-to-consumer wellness brand that specializes in personalized vitamins and supplements for today’s health-minded individual. Care/of produces their own line of vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and specialty supplements, and recommends the best ones for you based on your diet and health goals.
Care/of’s mission is to make it easier to lead a customized, healthy lifestyle and empower consumers to take ownership of their well- being and unique health goals by providing accessible knowledge and expertise. For more information and to find out which vitamins Care/of recommends for you, you can visit www.takecareof.com.
About Goldman Sachs Investment Partners
The Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP) Venture Capital & Growth Equity team has invested more than $6 billion in private opportunities globally since 2003. The team seeks to partner with entrepreneurs to build disruptive businesses and has invested in over 100 private transactions. The team is located in New York, Hong Kong, and Mumbai and is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
