Minneapolis-based wellness startup Rae Wellness has raised a $9.5 million Series A round of venture capital, it announced on Friday.
Rae Wellness markets 23 products like vitamins and probiotics, with plans to introduce a new line soon. Its products were first available through a partnership with Target Corp., but have since expanded to brick-and-mortar retailers like Anthropologie and online retailers like Amazon.
The venture capital round was led by PowerPlant Partners, with participation from Rae's existing investors M13, Able Partners and Victress Capital.
You can read Rae Wellness' Form D here.
Rae Wellness was founded in 2019 by Angie Tebbe, a former senior director at Target. She was inspired to start the company by her own turn towards well-being after leaving Target in 2018, as well as her upbringing in one of the few North Dakota families that regularly meditated on their front lawn, she said.
Tebbe wanted Rae Wellness to fill a gap in the wellness market. Existing products were either too expensive for the average person or else made with artificial preservatives and colors, and she believed her company could fill the space in between, she said.
The company had about 1 million customers in 2020, its first full year of operation, and expects to at least double its growth in 2021, Tebbe said. It has a headcount in the 20s right now, she said.
“Rae fits squarely in line with our focus on investing in high growth, disruptive consumer brands generating an impact through wellness and social responsibility," PowerPlant Partners partner Dan Gluck said in a statement.
