The news that Nashville startup Rootine announced on Tuesday mirrors the premise of its business — taking a tailored supplement to boost energy and optimize performance.
In Rootine's case, that means securing a $10 million Series A round of investor financing, led by Nashville-based venture capital firm Relevance Ventures. Other investors include the national Techstars accelerator program, of which Rootine is an alumnus, and DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Dutch conglomerate Royal DSM.
The funding more than doubled the total amount Rootine has raised in its four-year existence. The money will be used for adding staff, growing distribution and expanding its product line, according to a news release.
Rootine bills itself as an alternative to the range of multivitamins on the shelves of pharmacies, grocery stores and online. Rootine has delivered more than 1 million multivitamin packs to customers to date, according to the company. Those sleeves are filled with tiny balls called microbeads, mixed to target individual needs based on analysis of more than 100 health data points, including a customer's DNA and blood samples.
"Rootine has the potential to reshape the $500 billion cellular nutrition market through an integrated platform that empowers everyone to take control of their precise nutritional needs," said Cameron Newton, general partner at Relevance Ventures, in a statement.
Rootine is a finalist for one of this fall's Next Awards from the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Finalists are divided first by size, and Rootine is in the group of companies that have more than $3 million of annual revenue.
Rootine's "precision multivitamin memberships" start at $69 per month for three months. The company also sells at-home DNA, vitamin and mineral test kits, which can be purchased one at a time (starting at $115 per test) or by membership (starting at $95 every three months).
Rootine was founded by CEO Rachel Sanders and Daniel Wallerstorfer, who's based in Austria. The company closed a $3 million round of earlier-stage seed financing one year ago, with investors including DSM Venturing as well as another of Wallerstorfer's companies and Nashville-based Launch Tennessee.
