These Tech Startups Want to Disrupt Your Vitamins

Even if you stockpile kale and kombucha, your diet can still fall short of fulfilling your nutritional needs. Certain essentials, like vitamin D, are notoriously difficult to obtain from foods alone, and several medications, including some birth control methods, can decrease B vitamin levels in the body. This is where supplements and multivitamins often come in. But choosing which pills to pop from the myriad options in the aisles can be overwhelming, to say the least: Do you really need a megadose of vitamin C? Are those herbs safe? Are the amounts listed on the label accurate? Does price matter?

Two new startups want to take the stress—and confusion—out of this experience. Ritual is the brainchild of 30-year-old Katerina Schneider, a former venture partner at an investment firm who vividly remembers being pregnant and mystified by the ingredients in the supplements recommended by her doctor. “I wanted to figure out what, as women, we’re lacking each and every day,” she says of the impetus to launch her Los Angeles–based company. After teaming up with Dr. Luke Bucci, who heads research and development, Schneider discovered that “We don’t need the 20 to 40 things in a typical multivitamin.” Instead, her streamlined Essential for Women formula contains just nine core nutrients: vitamin B12, vitamin D3, vitamin K2 MK-7, vitamin E, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, boron, iron, and magnesium—all of which come in a clear, non-GMO capsule designed to be taken twice a day. (And to make it easy to remember, Ritual delivers a 60-count bottle to your door once a month for $30.)

The clear pill is also a nod to the company’s commitment to transparency. “For us, it’s important to know the suppliers behind every nutrient,” Schneider says. A supply chain map on Ritual’s website pinpoints where all the ingredients come from, and includes mini profiles of the production labs, details on what impact any given nutrient has on the body, and healthy food sources that can help up your intake (i.e., raisins, almonds, and prunes are rich in bone-supporting boron).

For those who prefer to curate their own nutrient assortment, there’s Care/of, a startup slated to launch next week that delivers tailored daily supplements. To create the bespoke packets, users log on to the brand’s website and fill out a questionnaire that delves into their health goals, diet, history, and lifestyle. That information is run through data algorithms to generate recommendations, which are based on thousands of peer-reviewed research articles and vetted by Care/of’s team of doctors. The final assortment could include any of the brand’s 30 minerals, herbs, vitamins, probiotics, and specialty supplements, such as energizing rhodiola rosea from the Altai mountains of Siberia or immunity-boosting Austrian elderberry (for a monthly cost of $20 and up, depending on your individualized mix).

It’s a smart approach, says Washington, D.C.–based Ashley Koff, R.D., of Care/of’s personalized model. It’s the next best thing to “working with someone who can assess your total nutritional intake, and what might be missing,” she explains. But if you’re pregnant or nursing or following a diet that eliminates certain food groups (such as a vegan or dairy-free regimen), it’s still wise to meet up with your doctor in real time for a more in-depth conversation and analysis, she adds.

And while Koff is in favor of transparency around ingredients in supplements and accuracy on labels, she’s quick to point out that Ritual and Care/of aren’t alone in these efforts. “Brands like MegaFood have been doing this already, and even have a live camera where you can watch your supplements being made,” she says. Other mainstream brands that Koff has researched and trusts include New Chapter and Metagenics. In Koff’s opinion, though, the convenience factor offered by Ritual and Care/of is no small thing. “I love the vehicle of delivery,” she says, “when it’s based on what you need, and what you need right now.”

 

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