For decades, the US health care system has struggled to deal with diet-related chronic diseases that affect almost half of all adults.
That has changed in recent years with the discovery of Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs that help people lose weight. Insurance covers these medications, but doctors frequently require patients to see a dietitian as part of their treatment plan.
“We’ve seen a lot of people who have had a lot of trouble with their health,” said Noakotrob, co-founder and CEO of Berry Street, a nutrition counseling platform launched two years ago.
Berry Street, which provides registered nutritionists with tools to manage independent practices, has raised $50 million in funding rounds from investors such as Northzone, Sofina and FJ Labs.
“We grew up very quickly,” Kotolov said. “It’s a very big market.”
Berry Street is one of several nutritional counseling startups booming for GLP-1 medications.
Fay, a startup that matches independent nutritionists and patients, like Berry Street, revealed on Wednesday it raised a $50 million Series B led by Goldman Sachs at a $50 million valuation I did. The funding comes just nine months after the company announced a $25 million Series A from General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures.
Nourish, which raised a $35 million Series A in March last year, is another startup offering similar services.
Kotlove says that GLP-1 use growth is not the only factor that encourages people to seek nutritional therapy.
“If you have commercial health insurance, there’s likely to be a really generous reporting to look at nutritionists,” he said.
However, most people don’t know that nutritional counseling is usually covered by 100% insurance. “It’s definitely the least utilized profit in all American healthcare systems,” Cotrob said.
Startups like Berry Street are eligible for health insurance and make it easy for those worried about how they will eat to get counseling from a registered nutritionist.
Berry Street allows registered dietitians who are employed full-time in clinics. This allows you to start your own practice in the evenings or weekends. This means that patients will have more opportunities to use benefits that they didn’t even know existed in the past.
A serial entrepreneur whose former venture was a popular alcohol recovery app, Kotlove personally experiences the benefits of nutritional counseling. He says he has been clinically obese since he was a child.
“I tried everything to fight my poor diet,” he said. He was the heaviest when the doctor recommended that he meet a nutritionist.
“I left that visit, “I know what healthy foods are and what unhealthy foods are. I really don’t need a nutritionist to tell me that,” he said. said. However, he still tried nutritional therapy.
Kotolove was then surprised at how much a session with the nutritionist helped him. “It was very similar to treatment, but instead of talking about my relationships with my family and partner, we were talking about our relationships with food,” he said.
He eventually lost 60 pounds and kept that weight down. Another surprise is that all his sessions were completely covered by insurance.
Kotlove’s makeover was the inspiration for Berry Street. He hopes his company will help many people make similar changes.
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