We had already talked about Cuure during our review of their offering: based on an online questionnaire about their lifestyle and identity, the startup offers a personalized dietary supplement program by subscription. And in the process refreshes a market dominated by large laboratories that don’t always know how to speak to millennials.
Launched in January 2019 by two young founders, Cuure had until then grown without investment funds by its side. They now claim 10,000 unique customers and, according to LinkedIn, their team numbers around fifteen members.
This fundraising round is the third in the nutraceuticals sector in France, alongside that of Miraculeux (€800,000) and the very recent one of Nutri&Co (€4M from Creadev, the Mulliez family fund). This also confirms one of our analyses of the nutraceutical market in France published on Maddyness, with an expected increase in the number of fundraising rounds in 2020.
Towards European expansion
The primary stated objective is the international expansion of the business. Cuure therefore wants to be able to deliver its products throughout Europe, particularly Western Europe. This is understandable since the largest markets in the dietary supplements sector are the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain.
There will be no opening of an overseas office for now; everything will be managed from France with reinforced teams on the ground. A cautious strategy that can be explained by the current health context and by the relatively limited size of the funding round, which does not allow for expansion in all directions. All the more so since part of the announced amount had in fact been raised earlier and was therefore already spent.
Diversify to face competition?
In an increasingly competitive nutraceutical market for startups, Cuure is also choosing to stand out by diversifying its activities. In addition to its subscription-based sales, the founders speak of personalized support, an advisory platform, and teleconsultations focused on nutrition. The young startup would even like to offer meditation classes!
Who will be the next dietary supplement startup to raise funds? Aime, the nutricosmetics startup founded by Mathilde Lacombe? Epycure, Cuure’s direct competitor? Or Dijo, the digital-native probiotic specialist?
