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Image Credits:Chiyo / Chiyo co-founders Irene Liu and Jennifer Jolorte Doro
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Image Credits:Chiyo / Chiyo co-founders Irene Liu and Jennifer Jolorte Doro
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Chiyo’s postpartum nutrition program sends three meals a day.Image Credits: Chiyo
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One of the hard thing about being pregnant is learning what to rust for maximum digestive comfort and sustenance . Once the babe is bear , the alimentation think game continues on which foods are ideal for postpartum and nursing .
Chiyowants to be that support system by offering nutrition advice and meal in the form of a repast delivery service to women from fertility rate through postpartum as part of its holistic approach to fertility upkeep . Chiyo offer digital guides and wellness coaching job for its substance abuser and is also work to establish what it considers the “ first - of - its - variety ” enquiry database of nutrition for women ’s health .
Irene Liu , co - laminitis and CEO , receive the idea for Chiyo after seeing her mother send her aunty traditional Chinese medicine meals after her aunt had a sister . Liu was always concerned in the construct of food as medicine , and wanted to pull from her background in nutritional science combined with Eastern food therapy to make stagecoach - based and symptom - specific nutrition programs for other mother .
“ My family is Formosan , and I ’ve always spring up up with a more holistic medicine approach , and how you use solid food to prevent disease , heal and make you find better — a more functional food way of cerebration , ” Liu told TechCrunch . “ After seeing what postpartum care wait like in Asia and other more ancient cultures , I wondered why this does n’t be in the U.S. Why are n’t we using operable food in this way for a really important life style if your body keeps transfer ? ”
Chipping away at the problems of reproductive healthcare , one patient at a time
The pilot that never ended
Liu start her career at Bain & Co. , empathise the political economy of food systems , and then work out for a nonprofit on the south side of Chicago , setting up local market routes . Combining an interest in solid food as practice of medicine with a policy academic degree from Harvard and a business degree from Wharton gave Liu some food for thought for thought — if you will — about how to build a local thriving economy through economic development initiatives so that a solid food system can support itself .
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She meet co - father Jennifer Jolorte Doro , a clinical nutritionist and postpartum individual chef . They initially launched a pilot program computer program , a five - hebdomad postpartum meal pitch Robert William Service to new mothers in New York City .
As Liu order it , the pilot never ended . The society ’s website was boosted organically on Google during that time , and the duad started get K of pre - gild . “ All of this was fly by the seat of our pants , just to ship the product , ” Liu say .
So they founded Chiyo in 2020 and began shipping meals nationwide from a kitchen in Kearny , New Jersey . The co - laminitis liked the melodic theme of a company that offered the actual meals , rather than something digital only , because selling a Cartesian product would provide “ fertile datum ” around how people would use their offerings .
The company has serve 100,000 meal since launch in 2021 , and revenue grew 300 % in the last 12 months amid a countrywide expansion , though Liu reject to condition what the actual revenue number was . In increase , Chiyo works with more than 100 women ’s wellness practitioners .
The product roadmap is evolving , too , extending from the postpartum programme to eventually dish the full women ’s wellness journey . This includes a catamenial rhythm fertility program that place tonics and broths based on your menstrual cycles/second . Then on the postpartum side , the food will change free-base on your estimated due date .
And unlike other repast service provider that want you to be customers for life , Chiyo ’s goal is to get you off of its program . The fair user is on the program for about four weeks . The 40 - days postpartum programme , which includes three meals per twenty-four hour period , start at $ 69 per day .
“ We ’ve become more normative about the timing that impact the event on your body , ” Liu enjoin . “ For example , we start with the first 40 - 24-hour interval postpartum program . Then we launch frame and sympathy of what ’s happen in your body within the first six workweek of postpartum , and what ’s really important . We ’ve seen our customers increase from , for example , even two weeks for postpartum recovery . ”
Startups and physicians must link up to authorise women ’s wellness
Next up: Self-guided nutrition
Now the company direct to build a digital platform for personalized customer self - guided content and nutrition programme . Eventually , users will be able to rank each resolution ’s efficacy and assist give to the research database of nutrition for women ’s health .
This is buoyed by a new investiture of $ 3 million , led by other - stage investor Bread & Butter Ventures . Other player in the daily round admit Ingeborg , Union Heritage Ventures , Peterson Ventures , Detroit Venture Partners , Palette Ventures and The Helm .
The company has now raise a aggregate of $ 3.4 million . Other backers include fashion blogger and designer Aimee Song , former CFO of the Momofuku eating house chain Elizabeth Chrystal , Jing from Fly by Jing and Health - Ade co - founder Vanessa Dew .
The new financial backing also enables Chiyo to descale its statistical distribution through clinics and its practitioner community and place in extra food for thought as medicine research .
“ From all of that work , we are out to prove the ROI on investing in victuals and healthcare price savings so that finally this program can be reimbursed and not have to be out - of - pouch , ” Liu said . “ We are also shape with a identification number of clinics and hospital systems on how to be a nutrition fireplug - in . If their patient role has any nutritionary question , or wants more nutritional support , it ’s a co - stigmatise accounting entry point into our ecosystem . ”
Have a juicy tip or lead about happenings in the venture populace ? institutionalize top toChristine Hall at chall.techcrunch@gmail.com or via thisSignal link . Anonymity requests will be respected .
How compassionateness and inclusivity are helping Kindbody exchange the fertility diligence
