As the interconnections between food and health become more clear, entrepreneurs and investors see an opportunity to treat disease and promote better health through better nutrition. The latest: Washington, DC-based Mealogic, which provides nutritionally tailored meals, such as low-sodium, anti-inflammatory or plant-based, on a white label basis to healthcare providers, clinics and other customers.
The company raised $16 million in a deal led by S2G Investments. Unilever Ventures, Dohmen Company Foundation, and US Venture Partners also invested. “Mealogic is helping advance both prevention and treatment for diet-related health challenges,” says the company’s CEO, Derek Mansfield.
Food as health
The emerging “food as health” or “food as medicine” sector is often seen as the realm of philanthropy or government funding. But S2G Investments, the multi-stage investment firm spun out of Builders Vision a year ago, has created an investment thesis around healthy food.
“Food and healthcare have traditionally operated as separate systems, yet they are deeply intertwined, shaping everything from individual health to national healthcare costs and long-term well-being,” S2G’s Matt Walker told ImpactAlpha in a recent conversation.
S2G has backed entrepreneurs who connect food, agriculture, and health. “By supporting innovations that tackle chronic disease through nutrition and prevention, we’re helping build a more resilient, affordable, and proactive health system,” says Walker.
Mealogic uses fresh, locally sourced and culturally authentic ingredients for its meals. It handles everything from e-commerce to food production to delivery for its more than 40 clients, freeing them up to focus on serving their communities. Says S2G’s Dan Ripma, “At a time when chronic conditions are surging and healthcare costs continue to climb, Mealogic offers providers a scalable, effective way to drive better outcomes through food.”
S2G focuses on food and agriculture, oceans, and energy, with more than than 80 portfolio companies within its food and ag vertical. Mealogic marks the firm’s seventh ‘food as health’ deal. Others include NourishedRx, which offers medically tailored meals to help prevent and manage chronic conditions; and Faeth Therapeutics, which is developing cancer-specific nutrition interventions to improve patient outcomes.
Mend provides nutritional supplements to aid in surgical recovery and rehabilitation, and Solarea Bio is developing microbiome-based solutions for gut and immune health. Mend and Solarea are conducting clinical trials to demonstrate their efficacy.
MAHA movement
The food as health trend is getting support from an unlikely corner: Health Secretary RFK Jr’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. But Walker sees longer term forces at play.
“We don’t hinge our investment strategy on specific policy outcomes,” he says. “If you look at the long term trends, I think this current administration and prior administrations would agree that there is a convergence happening here, and what we need to do is increase our focus on food and nutrition’s impact on human health.”
