Fast growing Healthycell gets additional investment via crowdfunding
Healthycell announced last week that it had raised an additional $250,000 in a Regulation CF crowdfunding campaign on the through the funding site StateEngine.com. The US Securities and Exchange Commission regulates such activity to place a $5 million annual limit to companies’ crowdfunding capital raises and also places limits as to how much each ‘non accredited’ investors can invest through such platforms. Healthycell said 250 investors had participated in the funding round.
Healthycell founder Douglas Giampapa says his company’s differentiator is its ‘microgel’ delivery system, which he says boosts bioavailability of his company’s line of supplements, branded as Focus+Recall, REM Sleep, Bioactive Multi, Vegan Essentials, and Immune Super Boost.
Tests show absorption hurdles for competing products
Giampapa said tests his company had sponsored at New England University during the development process showed that competing multivitamins and other supplements when dissolved left a residue of sand-like particles. The relatively large nature of these particles limits the uptake of the bioactives they contain before they are excreted, he maintained.
By contrast, the system he developed houses much smaller packets of actives within a proprietary gel matrix. That matrix consists of acacia gum, soluble fiber and citrus pectin. Giampapa said it’s a more natural alternative to some other gel-like delivery modes and has a prebiotic function as well.
The delivery system technology was attractive enough that amid strong sales last year Healthycell was able to attract $1.6 million in private equity funding.
Despite some of the same supply chain issues that have affected the industry at large, Giampapa said he expects 2022 to continue the company’s strong upward trend.
“We've seen our run rate grow over 300% since January of 2021 despite major out-of-stock issues throughout the year," Giampapa said. "We look forward to setting new company sales records in 2022 with a restructured supply chain that will keep products consistently in stock to meet demand."
