On a mission to promote healthier eating habits, ZOE calls for a return to unprocessed foods to improve healthspan.
Consumer nutrition company ZOE has secured a $15 million investment from Coefficient Capital, a New York-based investment firm known for backing technology-driven consumer brands. The funding, an extension of ZOE’s Series B round, brings the total raised by the company to $118 million and is intended to support the platform’s expansion in the United States.
ZOE’s mission to improve human health through personalized nutrition is highly relevant to longevity – diet is a core pillar of longevity, and obesity induces epigenetic alteration and senescence, accelerating aging and age-related dysfunction. Already boasting a global community of more than 100,000 members, the Boston and London-based company offers personalized nutrition advice, recipes and continual support to help members make sustainable changes to their diets.
Via its mobile app, ZOE aims to help users track their progress and achieve better health scores through repeat testing and guidance. The company claims that users typically experience improvements in energy, mood, hunger and sleep within a few months.
Having previously invested in brands like Oatly and Starship, Coefficient Capital recently conducted a survey revealing widespread confusion among Americans regarding ultra-processed foods, with many consumers mistakenly believing that products like energy drinks and protein shakes are healthy options. The firm’s investment in ZOE is seen as an opportunity to influence the US food landscape and promote healthier eating habits.
Andrew Goletka, Managing Partner at Coefficient Capital, praised ZOE’s focus on science and data to drive consumer behavior towards better health.
“Their work, in running the world’s biggest nutrition science study and clinical trials, sets ZOE apart in a world that’s full of health and wellness companies making false claims without regulation,” he said. “It’s essential that companies like ZOE exist to meet the demand for consumers who want informed, actionable advice to help them feel better now, and for years to come.”
Founded by Professor Tim Spector of King’s College London, data science expert Jonathan Wolf and entrepreneur George Hadjigeorgiou, ZOE says its research demonstrates the detrimental effects of processed food on long-term health and advocates for a return to unprocessed, “real” foods to improve well-being.
“The US, like the UK, is in the midst of a terrible health crisis,” said Wolf, CEO of ZOE. “The food that our governments tell us is good for us is in fact causing us to feel terrible, and live fewer healthy years than our parents. The need to make smarter food choices, based on real science, has never been greater.”
In 2022, ZOE also raised over $8.5 million through a crowdfunding campaign, and subsequent investors include Accomplice, Balderton Capital, Daphni, Ahren, THVC and Steven Bartlett’s Flight Fund. The company is also revealed it is developing a whole food supplement that it says will be available in the US by the end of 2024.
