Nutrition brand Zoe has raised more than three times its target amount in a crowdfunding campaign within two weeks of launching it.
Nutrition brand Zoe has raised more than three times its target amount in a crowdfunding campaign within two weeks of launching it.
The company – which said the money raised would be used to sequence more than one million individuals’ gut microbiomes, and scale in the US, which it sees as a “massive market” – had hoped to raise £1m in the Crowdcube-hosted fundraise.
This week the total exceeded £3m, with more than 3,300 investors participating.
“We raised £2.5m in our first day, from over 2,000 people. That’s incredible, and obviously a very exciting moment for any growing company,” Jonathan Wolf, co-founder and CEO of Zoe, told The Grocer.
“But what really excites us is what this represents. That people are waking up to the chronic health epidemic in this country and are ready to take control of their health. The momentum around gut health and Zoe right now is truly extraordinary to see. It’s a real signal that people want change, and they’re ready to help make it happen,” Wolf added.
According to information shared with potential investors, the company is valued before the latest funding at £266m.
While the crowdfund will raise cash, the main aim – Wolf told The Grocer earlier this month – is to drive up the number of user gut microbiomes Zoe can analyse. A microbiome is the trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes living in our guts and is unique to every individual.
The company has a “bold ambition” to sequence one million microbiomes, having already gathered data on around 300,000. The bigger dataset, combined with Zoe’s proprietary artificial intelligence engine, known internally as GutEngine, and existing research, will allow it to “really understand the impact of individual microbes” on various health markers.
Among the rewards being offered to investors in the crowdfund is “dinner in London” with the public face of the company Professor Tim Spector. The dinner is offered to those investing £20,000 or more. For those backing with £50,000 or more is the opportunity to name the “specific gut bacteria linked to good and bad health” added to the Zoe app as a result of its research, “subject to Zoe review and approval”.
Those investing smaller amounts are being offered tickets to events, a “custom tin” for Zoe’s Daily30+ whole food supplement, and a signed copy of Spector book Ferment.
“Zoe’s crowdfund success is significant, but commercially it’s more symbolic than substantive,” said Leo Campbell, co-founder of science-led challenger brand Modern Baker.
“Presumably they need more than a few million pounds to keep the lights on, and the real test will come from institutional investors, who’ll view a £266m valuation and £1m monthly burn through a much tougher lens. Still, it’s an important signal in the power struggle between the old HFSS and traffic-light orthodoxy and a new era defined by the UPF debate, which is being led by challenger brands,” Campbell added.
The latest raise is the company’s second crowdfund, its last, in 2022, attracting more than 12,000 investors and breaking UK records for female participation in a fundraise. In total it has raised $118m to date.
It says more than 70% of its revenue is from recurring subscription-based memberships.
In 2023, Zoe attracted £2m in investment from The Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett, but last year embarked on swingeing cuts to its headcount in an urgent economy drive.
Three million people interact with Zoe each month, via the Zoe app, its podcast or Daily30+ whole food supplement, the company says.
The crowdfund comes after Zoe launched a new version of the subscription-based app – which had been “rebuilt from the ground up”. It features AI that allows users to take a photo of any meal to “understand exactly what is in it – and its impact on your body”. The app also includes a ‘Processed Food Risk Scale’ – originally launched in March – allowing users to scan product labels and barcodes to see whether it is “high risk” for their health.
“It’s fantastic to see the high levels of advocacy within the Zoe community translate into millions of pounds worth of investment,” said Matt Cooper, co-CEO of Crowdcube.
Cooper said that Zoe’s 2022 round set a record for the proportion of female investors in a single offer.
“And that momentum continues, with more than 60% of the investors in this round being women,” Cooper told The Grocer. Add to that a surge of new investors discovering Zoe for the first time, and it’s clear this is a brand inspiring real, lasting change.”
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