Needed Secures $14M To Expand Pregnancy Nutrition Offerings
The company aims to improve perinatal health through nutrition, which it says is one of the most “significant and overlooked” parts of pregnancy
Needed, a science-backed perinatal nutrition company, announced a $14 million funding round led by The Craftory and featuring the continued support of existing investors Seae Ventures and Crescent Ridge VC.
The capital will serve to expedite product innovation, bolster content creation and launch Needed Labs, the company’s clinical insights and research division.
Needed was founded in 2017 by nutritionally trained mothers Julie Sawaya and Ryan Woodbury. The company has garnered a reputation for its innovative and science-driven approach to perinatal nutrition. Since its inception, the company has rapidly expanded its product range to become a comprehensive perinatal nutrition system that offers targeted support for egg and sperm quality, lactation, stress, sleep, and hydration
“Nutrition is one of the most significant and most overlooked decisions made in the pregnancy journey,” said Sawaya, Needed co-founder and co-CEO. “However, nutrition is often relegated to an afterthought and women are left with more questions than answers about their nutritional needs. … Needed is setting a new, radically better standard for perinatal nutrition combining the products, education, and access to nutritional experts that all women need and deserve.”
With the launch of Needed Labs, the company aims to revolutionize maternal and infant health by challenging prevailing norms through pioneering research. The women’s health company says its study on women’s nutritional status during pregnancy and the advancement of an integrative Nutritional Care model promises to significantly reduce rates of preterm birth, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes when compared to national averages.
“Nutrition changes perinatal outcomes. Not just birth outcomes, but fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and the health trajectory of mom and baby for the rest of their life,” said Woodbury, Needed co-founder and co-CEO. “Needed Labs is on a mission to develop new data through research and aggregate clinical insights to ensure the impact of proper perinatal nutrition can no longer be ignored in the standard of care.”