11.08.18
Rael, a feminine care wellness startup dedicated to educating and empowering women with healthy period products, announced it has raised $17.5 million in a Series A funding round. The financing is led by Mirae Asset and GS Retail Fund, South Korea's largest asset manager and retail conglomerate. Returning investors include SoftBank Ventures Korea, who previously led Rael's Pre-Series A round, and BAM Ventures, run by The Honest Company co-founder Brian Lee. Joining are new investors Pritzker Group Venture Capital and NYX Cosmetics founder Toni Ko, among others, bringing the total funding to date at $20.4 million.
Launched in 2017, Rael is led by three female co-founders: Aness An, a journalist and bestselling author; Binna Won, an architect-turned-art-director; and Yanghee Paik, a former movie distributor at The Walt Disney Studios with a Harvard MBA. Frustrated by the lack of healthy, comfortable and high-performing period care products on the market, the trio set out to create their own solution.
"We started Rael to empower women with healthy alternatives to conventional feminine care products that are full of toxic chemicals," explains Yanghee Paik, CEO and co-founder at Rael. "We hope to educate and impact women around the world by creating products that don't sacrifice comfort or performance."
Today, Rael's product line includes organic cotton pads and pantyliners, both No. 1 Amazon Best Sellers in their respective categories, and biodegradable cardboard and non-applicator tampons.
The company also expanded its offering with a line of "Period Beauty" items which include an assortment of facial sheet masks and acne healing patches which help alleviate hormonal skin issues that inconveniently occur during menstruation.
"We always look for founders who have the potential to build enduring iconic brands that truly speak to and resonate with their consumers, and that's what we found with the Rael team," adds BAM Ventures' Brian Lee. "We are excited to continue investing in working alongside the team in their global mission to provide safe, high-quality, menstrual products to women worldwide."
In addition to global expansion, the company also plans to use the funds to grow their DTC site, GetRael.com, while also exploring partnerships with major brick-and-mortar retailers.
Launched in 2017, Rael is led by three female co-founders: Aness An, a journalist and bestselling author; Binna Won, an architect-turned-art-director; and Yanghee Paik, a former movie distributor at The Walt Disney Studios with a Harvard MBA. Frustrated by the lack of healthy, comfortable and high-performing period care products on the market, the trio set out to create their own solution.
"We started Rael to empower women with healthy alternatives to conventional feminine care products that are full of toxic chemicals," explains Yanghee Paik, CEO and co-founder at Rael. "We hope to educate and impact women around the world by creating products that don't sacrifice comfort or performance."
Today, Rael's product line includes organic cotton pads and pantyliners, both No. 1 Amazon Best Sellers in their respective categories, and biodegradable cardboard and non-applicator tampons.
The company also expanded its offering with a line of "Period Beauty" items which include an assortment of facial sheet masks and acne healing patches which help alleviate hormonal skin issues that inconveniently occur during menstruation.
"We always look for founders who have the potential to build enduring iconic brands that truly speak to and resonate with their consumers, and that's what we found with the Rael team," adds BAM Ventures' Brian Lee. "We are excited to continue investing in working alongside the team in their global mission to provide safe, high-quality, menstrual products to women worldwide."
In addition to global expansion, the company also plans to use the funds to grow their DTC site, GetRael.com, while also exploring partnerships with major brick-and-mortar retailers.
