150+ Startups Cultivating The Wellness Industry

Modern-day “wellness” refers to holistic healthy living characterized by physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Whether it’s sipping kombucha or experimenting with the latest CBD oil, wellness has officially invaded our society.

While the industry has seen its share of controversy — debates over goop’s wellness lifestyle suggestions, the infamous death of connected juicer startup Juicero, etc. — consumers, startups, and corporations are placing broad bets across the sector.

CPG corporates like PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Kellog, and Campbell have invested in and acquired a number of brands focused on healthy snacking while personal care incumbents like P&G and Unilever have backed natural and organic beauty brands.

Travel and hospitality players are also increasingly focused on wellness. Last year, Hyatt Hotels acquired wellness resort brand Miraval Group and fitness and spa brand Exhale, while The Ritz Paris opened a Chanel-branded spa in 2016.

Startups are promoting wellness in sectors ranging from mental health to diet to fitness and beauty. Some are focusing on sleep, cannabis, and travel as new frontiers for wellness.

We used the CB Insights database to identify 150+ startups disrupting the wellness industry and organized them into 15 categories, from mental wellness to personalized nutrition.

Scroll down to see the full list of companies in the graphic.

This market map includes private companies only and is not meant to be exhaustive of companies in the space. Categories are not mutually exclusive. Please click to enlarge.

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CATEGORY BREAKDOWN

Food & Beverage — These startups offer “better-for-you” food and beverages, many of which claim to be organic and non-GMO. Alternative protein startups such as plant-based dairy brands Ripple and Califia Farms and meat alternatives Impossible Foods and Memphis Meats make up a good portion of this category.

Notable beverage segments include kombuchas (e.g. Health-Ade Kombucha), smoothies (e.g. Daily Harvest), and detox beverages (e.g. Dirty Lemon).

This category also includes healthy meal subscription startups like plant-based meal kit company Purple Carrot, and healthy restaurant chains like Dig Inn ($55M in total disclosed funding) and Cava ($164M in total disclosed funding).

Vitamins & Supplements — Companies in this category offer vitamins and supplements. Startups like care/of and Thryve are developing personalized vitamins while HUM Nutrition and Moon Juice offer beauty-focused vitamins. Companies like Hims ($97M in disclosed funding) and Nutrafol offer hair growth supplements targeted towards men and women respectively.

Active Nutrition — This category consists of sports nutrition brands. Startups include Berlin-based active nutrition company foodspring as well as Revere and Après, which offer plant-based pre- and post-workout supplements.

Nutrition Tech — Companies in this segment offer tech-enabled personalized nutrition platforms. Viome determines a user’s biochemistry profile to offer personalized diet and lifestyle recommendations. and virtual nutritionists like Nutrino connects users with virtual nutritionists.

Fitness Tech — These fitness tech startups are launching fitness lifestyle tech brands such as connected cycling and treadmill company Peloton (over $1B in total disclosed funding to-date) and Mirror, which raised $13M in February 2018 for at-home connected workouts.

Other notable segments include on-demand class booking platforms and workout app ClassPass ($259M funding to-date) and its Singapore-based equivalent GuavaPass.

This category also includes fitness genomics companies like AthGene ($4.7M), which provide gene analysis for fitness enthusiasts to help them optimize their workout and nutrition patterns.

Athleisure & Connected Apparel — This category includes companies that create and distribute leisure and fitness-focused apparel and activewear. Austin-based activewear brand Outdoor Voices has raised $65M raised in total disclosed funding while footwear brand Allbirds has seen over $27M in investment.

This segment also consists of brands producing connected apparel and athleisure. Athos Works, for example, produces sensor-laden performance apparel and an accompanying fitness tracker app that helps users monitor their fitness progress.

Sleep —  Startups are focusing on sleep as a new frontier for wellness. Companies in the space range from mattress startups (notably Casper, which aims to emphasize sleep as a pillar of wellness with its recent opening of The Dreamery) to luxury sleepwear line Lunya.

Meanwhile, sleep tech startups are aiming to use technology to cultivate better sleeping habits for consumers. Sleepace provides a variety of smart sleep solutions while Somnox has developed a sleep robot.

Mental Wellness — These companies develop a variety of products and services aiming to promote mental health and wellness among consumers. Startups in this space range from meditation apps such as Headspace ($76.4M) to wearables providing guided meditation like Muse ($31.2M) to mood trackers such as Woebot ($8M).

Corporate Wellness — Many startups are providing enterprise programs and products aimed at improving employee wellness. Peerfit provides an employee wellness program that allows employees to access boutique fitness studios while Bravely offers conflict resolution services for employees.

Beauty & Personal Care — This category consists of brands producing natural or organic beauty and personal care products such as Yes To and Juice Beauty, probiotic skincare lines such as TULA and Gallinee, and natural deodorant lines like Myro and PiperWai.

We also include “clean clinical” brands such as Drunk Elephant, which blend natural ingredients and “safe synthetics” along with inclusive personal care brands like female-focused shaving brand Billie, that seek to eliminate the “pink tax” on produces marketed towards women.

Cannabis — Cannabis entrepreneurs in the wellness industry are having a moment. Companies in this category provide consumer-facing CBD products. Cura, the most well-funded company in the group with nearly $55M in total disclosed funding, produces CBD oils for both consumers and premium edible brands in legal US and international markets.

Travel & Hospitality — Wellness is taking over the travel and hospitality sectors. In travel fitness, ROAM Fitness and FlyFit Global provide workout facilities behind airport security while companies like Ketanga Fitness Retreats curate fitness retreats around the world. Wellness is also becoming increasingly integrated in airports with companies like GoSleep, which develops sleeping pods for travelers to rest.

Feminine Care — Startups targeting women’s health and wellness have multiplied in recent years, with brands like Lola ($35.2M in total disclosed funding) offering organic period care goods and sexual wellness products. Damiva and Cora also produce natural period care goods while companies like Sustain focus on sexual wellness products.

Functional Health — Startups in this space offer digital health platforms that integrate wellness and other aspects of functional health. For example, Maven, which has raised $17M, provides a women’s digital health clinic while Parsley Health offers a whole body approach to medicine, nutrition, and wellness.

E-commerce — This category includes companies offering e-commerce brands that promote wellness and better-for-you products. Notably, Gwenyth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand goop offers goop exclusive products, a marketplace for beauty, clothing, and more, as well as wellness-focused content. Companies like The Honest Company ($489M), Thrive Market ($180M), and Brandless ($292M) offer online-only CPG marketplaces for natural and organic products.