The headliner of this week’s funding-heavy news lineup was Foodsmart, which loaded its plate with over $200 million to expand the reach of its virtual nutrition services.
Foodsmart supports patients facing chronic disease and food insecurity by partnering with health plans and providers to improve access to personalized healthy eating options.
- The FoodSMART telenutrition platform delivers virtual nutrition counseling from the largest standalone network of Registered Dietitians in the US, with integrated benefits management to help with things like applying for SNAP/EBT benefits.
- The FoodsMART marketplace then bridges the gap between the visit and the table, allowing patients to order quality food and have it delivered to their doorstep.
The combination of Foodsmart’s dietitian network and food marketplace sets it apart from most of its competitors, which either focus on supporting specific conditions or avoid tackling the logistics of grocery delivery.
- That versatility has led to Foodsmart serving over 2.2M members, as well as numerous peer-reviewed studies highlighting the cost reductions and health improvements resulting from the approach.
The food-as-medicine movement has provided fertile ground for startups since the pandemic, with shifting consumer behaviors and regulatory changes planting the seeds for growth.
- Rock Health’s primer on the market showed that FaM partnership volume in the last 18 months has surpassed that of the prior seven years combined.
- Investors are taking notice, and Foodsmart’s mega-round follows close behind other raises from Season Health ($7M), Fay ($25M), and Nourish ($35M).
The Takeaway
At a time when weight management medications are getting all the attention, Foodsmart is paving its own non-pharmacological path to preventing diet-related issues. If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, then $200M should be heavy enough to help Foodsmart improve the lives of plenty of patients.
