Victoria Thain Gioia
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Perelel, a women’s health supplement company co-founded by an OB/GYN, has secured a $27 million growth investment led by New York’s Prelude Growth Partners, with participation from earlier backers including Unilever Ventures, and California firms Willow Growth Partners and Selva Ventures.
Perelel was founded by Alex Taylor and Victoria Thain Gioia who struggled to find prenatal vitamins during their pregnancies. Gioia believes the lack of a vitamin that converts folate into critical folic acid during the early weeks of pregnancy caused her daughter to be born with a cleft. Taylor and Gioia pledged to do something for other women, and roped in Taylor’s OV/GYN, Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, for the venture.
According to the company, the funding marks a strategic transition from its initial focus on prenatal supplements to becoming a broader women’s health brand offering clinically backed products throughout the hormonal lifecycle, from fertility and pregnancy to postpartum and perimenopause. The firm said this infusion will allow it to replace early angel investors with a partner capable of supporting its next growth phase.
Perelel says it has already achieved profitability while doubling revenue year-over-year and maintaining high subscriber retention. It emphasizes that Perelel’s advantage lies in its research-driven approach, aiming to build consumer trust amid a market saturated with influencer-led brands and often unsubstantiated product claims.
“This moment validates what we’ve built over the past five years: a business that proves women trust and return to brands that invest in clinical rigor and medically backed solutions,” said Gioia, the company’s CEO of Perelel and mother of four. “As a women-founded firm with deep expertise in scaling consumer health and wellness brands, Prelude Growth understands both our market and our mission.”
Prelude Growth Partners highlighted the company’s clinical validation and commitment to women’s health research as distinctive qualities that set Perelel apart in the category. This investment aligns with prevailing trends where consumer demand is growing for transparent, science-backed health products, particularly in the female wellness sector. Perelel also plans to expand its product portfolio beyond vitamins into offerings such as greens powders and protein supplements to support women’s health at various hormonal stages.
Perelel recently acquired LOOM, a digital platform focused on reproductive and sexual health education, strengthening its mission to democratize access to trusted health information for women. This move underlines the company’s broader ambition beyond supplementation to becoming a comprehensive resource for women’s wellness. The firm has also committed $10 million toward advancing women’s health research and addressing disparities in reproductive healthcare, signaling a longer-term investment in the category’s scientific underpinnings.
The women’s health market faces increasing scrutiny over the efficacy and safety of nutritional supplements, with industry observers noting that rising consumer awareness is driving demand for more rigorously tested products that offer tangible health benefits. Perelel’s positioning as a physician-founded brand aims to resonate with consumers seeking credible solutions in a space crowded with less reliable alternatives.
[Noah Wire Services helped in the writing of this article.]
