Female wellness brand her1 raises €5.5 million, eyes further European expansion

Built upon the premise that true health and beauty comes from within, Berlin-based female wellness startup her1 has raised €5.5 million. The company creates a line of ingestible products that are aimed at supporting women’s wellbeing by focusing on gut health. With a portion of the new funding, her1 is anticipating the further development of products that will specifically cater to hormone balance, mood, sleep, and holistic wellbeing. To date, the startup has raised €9 million.

Founded in 2017 by serial entrepreneur Chanyu Xu, her1 launched with Inner Beauty in 2019 after extensive research and development. The original “pink drink” contains over 25 billion microorganisms that are designed to promote intestine health, resulting in an overall feeling of better health.

The company holds an EU organic certified rating (DE-ÖKO-070) and develops all its own products using natural, plant-based, gluten and sugar-free blends. The startup's most recent offering, Gut One is a daily supplement containing probiotics and a b-vitamin complex that is specifically targeting the relationship between gut health and optimal brain and cognitive functioning.

“Our microbiome is still in the early stages of research but it is currently one of the most promising and interesting research topics. The more we learn about the microbiome, the more it becomes clear that it has an essential impact on our overall health and wellbeing,” comment’s her1’s chief medical officer Rita Ugwu. “A healthy microbiome is not only important for our digestion it also plays a central role in our mental wellbeing, immune system, skin health, and other areas. As a medical doctor, I’m motivated by the fact that we can have a holistic influence on the wellbeing of our customers through our products and help them causally from the inside out with their problems instead of just treating symptoms as in classical western medicine.”

The recent funding round was led by Five Seasons Ventures, with previous investors Rheingau Founders and IBB Ventures following on.

Photo: Julia Zierer