The female-founded wellness company expands platform with new technology and products to make gardening's benefits more widely accessible
DALLAS, Oct. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Gardenuity – the first and only curated platform bringing gardening and its wellness benefits to companies and consumers – announces $5.5 million in seed funding. The milestone round was led by Michael Mann of Anchor Capital and Alan Shor of Retail Connection with participation from industry-leading investors including Bonnie Plants, Deason Capital, Ross Jones from Berkshire Partners, JFO Group, Revtech Ventures, Gray's Creek Capital and North Texas Angel Network, with other notable individuals including Ram Velidi, Ann Berry, Jon Ledecky, Raj Shah, among others.
The capital will be used to enhance Gardenuity's technology platforms and expand the brand's suite of gardens and gardening kits, furthering its mission to optimize social determinants of health by making gardening's benefits more accessible. The round will also support the accelerated growth of the business and bolster team growth across all functions of the company.
The raise will introduce new technology including Match 2.0 – an improved version of Gardenuity's patent-pending Match Technology, that expertly pairs growers with a garden best suited for their location and lifestyle. Gardenuity will also expand its Digital Greenhouse Community, which connects growers and provides a platform to ask questions, share harvesting tips and recipes and more.
Gardenuity has shown year-over-year growth well beyond the global gardening boom that happened as a result of the pandemic (55 percent of Americans claim to be active gardeners). Gardenuity provides both experienced and novice gardeners with the tools needed for successful growing, making it easier to harness gardening's evidence-based mental and physical health benefits. Since its 2017 founding, Gardenuity has celebrated over 5 million harvests across the country and raised $7.5 million in funding to date.
"We're thrilled to have the support of passionate and conscientious investors, all of whom I admire as an entrepreneur. With our scientific approach to product development, and with an emphasis on mental health, nutritional health, community growth, the health of the planet, and our ability to grow communities of support, we are excited about sharing and growing with leaders, customers, and clients across the country," says Co-founder and CEO Donna Letier.
The raise will also help support the brand's Gardenuity for Business platform, which has helped over 500 companies – including Google, Cigna, Amdocs, and Meta – bring mental, physical and community health to their employees. Gardenuity has an impressive 85 percent retention rate with the companies and organizations that it works with.
"This financing round will advance our efforts in building a stronger platform and meeting the needs of the global workforce. Our Gardenuity for Business platform is a priority offering as employers investment in mental health, physical health, and the health of the planet increases. We've only just begun supporting companies on their journey to increase employee well-being and engagement." says Letier. Gardenuity is available to corporations through all major health insurance and benefit providers including Cigna, BCBS, United Healthcare and Aetna, with more to come in the future.
"Gardenuity is bringing a fresh alternative to the wellness category, innovating with product, technology, and distribution channels. With Gardenuity's focus on employee wellness through gardens and gardening experiences, Gardenuity is on track to be a leader in the employee wellness space," says Michael Mann, lead investor and Managing Partner at Anchor Capital.
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected]
About Gardenuity
Gardenuity is a technology-enabled wellness company on a mission to make gardening and the "I grew that" experience accessible to everyone, no matter their age, location, circumstance, or skill level. Founded in 2017 by Donna Letier and Julie Eggers, Gardenuity merges gardening with well-being, delivering customized gardening kits and experiences to consumers and businesses nationwide.
With its patent-pending Match Technology platform, Gardenuity expertly-matches consumers with gardens and gardening experiences tailored to their location and lifestyle, incorporating factors including, but not limited to, forecasted weather, seasonality, farm inventory, plant nutrient needs and location, in addition to customer preferences.
To date, Gardenuity has celebrated over 5 million harvests across the country and helped over 500 companies from Google to Cigna bring mental, physical and community health to their employees.
Media Contact
RVD Communications, Gardenuity, 1 9142604636, g[email protected], https://gardenuity.com/
SOURCE Gardenuity
Share this article