NourishedRx raises $6 million in seed funding to accelerate growth of the first intelligent food-for-health platform

STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NourishedRx, a digital health company founded with the support of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, today announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding. S2G Ventures led the round with additional investors Route 66 Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Primetime Partners, and other individual investors. This funding will allow NourishedRx to expand its high-tech, high-touch platform to provide personalized, culturally relevant food solutions to health plan members nationwide.

Additionally, the company is appointing two new leaders to its executive committee:

• Hari Kolasani, Chief Technology Officer.
• Hari joined NourishedRx with 20+ years of experience in the healthcare technology industry. With a career dedicated to building tech and API platforms and products, Hari is a true believer in the power of interoperability and is a Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) practitioner. Prior to NourishedRx, Hari co-founded and served as CTO of Hura, and most recently was the CTO for Solera Health.

• Jeff Hancock as the new Chief Growth Officer.
• Jeff brings a passion for food-for-health and 20+ years of healthcare experience to NourishedRx. He's held various leadership positions overseeing marketing, sales, and new business development throughout his career. Before joining the team, Jeff most recently served as the executive vice president of sales and client success at Higi.

"NourishedRx is on a mission to close gaps in health equity by making nutritious and culturally relevant food accessible for health plan providers' most vulnerable members. This is a pivotal moment for NourishedRx as we seek to unlock the power of food and reach those who need it most," said Lauren Driscoll, CEO and founder, NourishedRx. "This funding round will position us to expand the solutions we provide and to serve more people. I also want to warmly welcome Hari and Jeff to NourishedRx; with these new appointments, we are adding two highly qualified and passionate leaders to the team. I look forward to working closely with them to usher NourishedRx into its next chapter."

Through its Registered Dietitian-supervised innovative platform, NourishedRx matches individuals with highly personalized, clinically appropriate and culturally relevant food solutions, as well as grocery shopping and meal prep guidance, alongside nutrition consultations. Through constant high-touch interactions, achieving lasting and impactful dietary change is becoming a reality.

To further reach those in need on a nationwide scale, NourishedRx expanded its offerings in December 2021 to include new culturally and clinically relevant grocery and fresh produce bundles delivered by both national and local community-based food partnerships. NourishedRx has also established new partnerships with multiple Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid plans to provide its services as part of an all-encompassing healthcare solution.

"While nutrition can prevent or address several health issues, there is a large gap between nutrition and healthcare," said Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer, S2G Ventures. "The NourishedRx team is bridging the gap by educating members on the importance of nutrition. At S2G, we believe our food system can serve as a healing force and an agent of change, and NourishedRx is an industry leader in this regard."

About NourishedRx

Founded in 2019, with the support of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, NourishedRx (formerly Project Well) is the first smart, Food-for-Health market platform designed to drive lasting dietary change for health plan members. The company's core AI-enabled platform matches at-risk members with personalized, Registered Dietitian–vetted high-quality meal and grocery offerings that leverage behavioral science to support lasting dietary change and, ultimately, improved health outcomes.

The platform unlocks the untapped potential of nutrition by integrating clinically tailored meals and diet education into the healthcare payment and delivery system.

More information can be found at https://www.nourishedrx.com or on LinkedIn.

About S2G Ventures

S2G Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund investing across the food, agriculture, oceans and seafood markets. The fund's mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food systems. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change, and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture and growth stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, oceans, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands.

S2G Ventures is a part of Builders Private Capital, the direct investment arm of Builders Vision, an impact platform dedicated to building a humane and healthy planet.

For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com, tune-in to our podcast, or connect with us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Natalie Wanner, [email protected]

SOURCE NourishedRx