Perelel, OB-GYN-founded women’s vitamin company, just raised $4.7 million in seed funding, reeling in consumer packaged goods giant Unilever as one of its investors.
Unilever Ventures, the venture-capital and private-equity arm of Unilever, which produces a range of well-known CPG brands like Vaseline and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, led the seed round that closed on July 19.
Other investors include Willow Growth Partners; Raissa Gerona, chief brand officer of Revolve, an e-commerce fashion company; Courtney Reum, co-founder of venture capital firm M13; Joan Nguyen, CEO of Bümo, a provider of digital and physical childcare solutions; Julia Hunter, CEO of Jenni Kayne, an apparel and home brand; and Ali Weiss, chief marketing officer of Glossier.
The seed round also attracted influencers, including reality TV personality and fashion designer Whitney Port; fashion blogger Aimee Song; food and lifestyle blogger Gaby Dalkin; reality TV personality and restaurateur Marissa Hermer, who owns celebrity hot spots Draycott, Olivetta and Issima restaurants; and model Rocky Barnes.
Launched by Alex Taylor, Victoria Thain Gioia and Dr. Banafsheh Bayati in 2020, Perelel offers pre- and postnatal vitamins and supplements tailored for every stage of motherhood from pre-conception to postpartum. The company also sells other types of vitamins and supplements, including a men’s multivitamin pack, iron supplements and daily probiotics. Perelel says all of its products use only high-quality bioavailable ingredients and are informed by the latest medical research.
Taylor and Thain Gioia developed the idea for Perelel in 2018 when they were pregnant and frustrated with the one-size-fits-all approach to prenatal nutrition products on the market. They wanted to create high-quality vitamins and supplements that could deliver targeted nutrients at each unique stage of the reproductive life cycle. Bayati, Thain Gioia’s OB-GYN, came on board as Perelel’s medical co-founder to oversee formulation, medical content and community relations.
The company also includes an advisory board of doctors and experts who develop and review the products. The board consists of other OB-GYNs, maternal fetal medicine specialists, reproductive endocrinologists, dieticians, naturopathic doctors and pediatricians.
