LOS ANGELES - Rael, the holistic personal care brand focused on clean period care, intimate care, and skincare, has announced the close of a US$35 million Series B investment, the largest amount raised in the US feminine care category to date.
Bringing Rael's total funding to $59 million since the company was founded in 2017, the round was led by Colopl Next and Signite Partners, the corporate venture capital firm of Shinsegae Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Korea. The funding was also joined by Aarden Partners, ST Capital, and existing investors including Mirae Asset and Unilever Ventures.
Founded by three Korean-American women, including CEO Yanghee Paik, Rael first launched in the U.S. and expanded to South Korea, where the organic category represents over 30% of the total feminine care market in comparison to less than 10% in the United States. The latest investment is indicative of Rael's ongoing success as the company continues its rapid expansion, becoming a top-selling brand in the US and Korea and expanding to 12 other international countries.
"We've been very impressed by Rael's growth trajectory and strong customer loyalty and believe they're poised for exceptional growth as an innovator and disruptor in the wellness space," said Jeffery Lim, Managing Partner at Signite Partners. "We are excited to support Rael as it continues to scale its business and make holistic women's wellness a seamless and approachable experience for all women around the world."
With this investment, Rael plans to continue its product innovation led by its development team based in South Korea, expand its 360-degree approach to women's wellness, accelerate growth at retail by expanding partnerships and investing in brand and trade marketing, and advancing its global expansion.
Rael is also expanding its executive leadership team, announcing industry veteran Lauren Consiglio as President, who was formerly a senior marketing executive at Unilever and L'Oreal. Consiglio brings over 20 years of CPG experience and will be responsible for strengthening Rael's unique positioning as a holistic wellness brand for women and growing its retail and DTC business in the US.
"We started Rael with a mission to improve women's wellness by leveraging novel technology from Korea, bringing organic, high-performing, comfortable products to the marketplace. Now, five years later, the company has evolved greatly, but our commitment to bringing women cleaner and more effective personal care solutions throughout their hormonal cycle has stayed the same," said Yanghee Paik, CEO and co-founder of Rael. "We're excited that with this new capital and strategic investors, we'll be able to continue pushing the envelope in terms of product innovation to truly become a holistic wellness brand. We're also looking to amplify our marketing to reach more customers and support our retail expansion while maintaining our leadership on Amazon. Ultimately, we want to become a global household brand and believe our new investors will be very helpful in accelerating our global expansion, especially in Asia."
