Digital health startup, Feel, closes £4.5m to clean up the “dirty” nutritional supplement market

The health and nutrition company is disrupting the £144bn global market with 60x growth

20 April 2021: Increasingly health-conscious consumers spend £442million a year on nutritional supplements, oblivious to falling foul of poor quality, ineffective nutrients. Feel, the UK-based digital health company, is on a mission to clean up the ‘dirty’ world of nutritional supplements and, following an exceptional first year of growth, the  producer of the world’s cleanest, highest-quality supplements, has closed a £4.5million investment, led by Fuel Ventures and includes TMT Investments, Sova VC, Richard Longhurst (founder of LoveHoney.com) and Igor Ryabenkiy (founder and GP of Altair Capital). 

The global dietary supplements market has become a high growth sector in recent years. In 2019, the market size was estimated at $144bn, and expected to grow at 13% per annum. In order to capitalise on rapidly changing consumer habits around vitamin intake, Feel is developing clinically-backed formulas to produce the highest quality nutritional supplements that exclude the harmful and unnatural additives included in others in the market.

Working with a direct-to-consumer subscription model, Feel’s cleaner, fresher approach to health and wellbeing has peaked significant consumer interest, seeing a 60x growth in its first year and exceeding 21,000 active subscriptions ( three times faster growth than Huel in its first few months). 

Feel was founded by serial entrepreneur Boris Hodakel and includes market knowledge and talent from the UK’s most recognisable health and retail brands including Graze, Tesco, Bulk Powders and Simba Sleep. 

Building on the company’s recent hyper-growth, Feel intends to expand across EMEA and target new verticals to serve pregnancy, kids, pets and cognition.  It is also continuing to grow its direct-to-consumer subscription, making it more affordable to get supplements and avoiding the 60% mark-up high-street retailers put on their supplements. 

Boris Hodakel, founder and CEO of Feel said, “Consumers are getting a bad deal – they spend a lot in investing in their health and wellbeing, believing they are doing themselves good. However, not all vitamins are created equal and the majority you find on retail shelves have a dirty formula that is difficult to absorb by the body, missing natural elements. We’re the cleanest alternative in the market – backed up by science –  and continually invest in making our formulas as effective as possible while still affordable. We’re beyond thrilled to be continuing our growth journey thanks to this new investment. We’re committed to serving people who are conscious about what they put in their bodies and building a loyal customer base who see real results when embracing Feel’s products.”

Mark Pearson, Managing Partner at Fuel Ventures added,

”We’re excited to be supporting Feel’s vision of being a global brand that is committed to the wellness and health of everyone. The growth and the expansion of Feel’s product line present a really exciting time for Feel and we are supporting them in becoming a significant disruptor to the health supplement market.” 

Alexander Chikunov, Partner at Sova VC added,

“Feel is in the process of disrupting consumer habits around vitamin intake, and changing a marketplace worth $144bn by providing its customers with top-quality products, combined with flawless and friendly service. We are confident that Feel is poised for great success in the future, and are very happy to be part of its journey!”

Artyom Inyutin, Co-founder & Head of Investments, TMT Investments added:

“The Feel team has created an excellent product that meets all the requirements and challenges of a healthy lifestyle and ecology. We are pleased to work with this project and believe that the new round will help the company not only significantly expand its product line, but also continue its aggressive growth in the market”. 

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Feel

Feel is a UK-based digital health company with a mission to clean up the ‘dirty’ world of nutritional supplements. Founded by entrepreneur, Boris Hodakel, Feel is a fast-growing nutritional supplement company that provides high quality vitamin supplements that are backed by Science. 

About TMT

TMT Investments Plc is a venture capital company that invests in the fast-growing technology enterprises at an early stage with global scale ambitions. TMT has invested into 72 companies since it was listed in AIM in December 2010, where it became one of the first publicly traded venture capital instruments in the UK, providing investors with access to high-yielding international private technology companies. The Company focuses on identifying investment opportunities in the segments, such as e-commerce, marketplaces, cloud, Big Data and SaaS.

About Sova VC

• Sova VC is an international London-based investor focused on backing and building ambitious and disruptive early-stage (Late Seed and Series A) technology companies to grow, drive superior performance, and have a positive impact on the future.
• Sova VC’s strategy is centred on identifying high-potential, disruptive technology companies at Late Seed and Series A stages with a particular focus on B2B and B2B2C marketplaces and software platforms with the potential to expand vertically across sectors and markets.
• The Sova VC team has a particular expertise and interest in Urban Tech, Fintech and Healthcare, and its initial geographic focus is on growth stage companies in the UK, Nordics, Baltic States, and the US East Coast.