Julie Wainwright, the founder and former CEO of luxury online consignment company The RealReal, is back in the startup scene with a new venture called Ahara. Based in Los Angeles, Ahara positions itself as a personalized nutrition company that offers tailored recommendations to its customers. The process begins with users filling out a health questionnaire about their diet, health history, age, and location. They can then take various at-home tests to assess genetic, epigenetic, and biomarker information
Ahara's tests provide insights into how effectively individuals are metabolizing specific nutrients, the health of their cells, and key nutrient levels in their blood, such as vitamin D and Omega 3s. The company is currently in beta and plans to operate on a freemium model, offering additional benefits to premium members.
While Wainwright is not a wellness expert herself, she has teamed up with celebrity physician-nutritionist Melina Jampolis as the co-founder and chief medical doctor of Ahara. The startup has recently announced a successful funding round, raising $10.25 million led by Greycroft, with participation from Headline, SHAKTI, and entrepreneur Sandy Sholl. Ahara already features a small team of employees, including a performance marketer.
The decision to launch Ahara after leaving The RealReal makes sense given the stark contrast in resource requirements between the two ventures. The RealReal, a luxury consignment platform, faced significant challenges in terms of margins and logistics.
Ian Sigalow of Greycroft, an early investor in The RealReal, explained that while the business had a strong concept and created a thriving second-hand luxury market, it struggled with high capital expenses related to garment storage and the meticulous procurement process. These challenges made it difficult to achieve profitability and scale the business efficiently.
Ahara enters the market as part of a growing wave of digital nutrition startups. Over the past six months, several similar ventures have secured funding, including Mighty Health, a San Francisco-based startup catering to the health needs of adults aged 50 and above, which raised $7.6 million.
Nourish, a telehealth platform for nutrition based in San Francisco, also secured $8 million in seed funding. The British nutrition and health tracking app Zoe also attracted significant investment, raising £25 million.
The rise of these digital nutrition startups reflects a growing interest in personalized health and wellness solutions. Consumers are increasingly seeking tailored recommendations and insights into their nutrition and overall well-being.
With Ahara's focus on personalized nutrition and its collaboration with a celebrity physician-nutritionist, it aims to tap into this emerging market. As the company moves from beta to full launch, it will be interesting to see how Ahara differentiates itself and captures a share of the evolving digital health landscape.