London-based menstrual health company DITTO has raised $6m in a seed funding round led by FoodLabs, as it looks to scale its evidence-based supplement range and expand its clinical research programme.
Founded by neuroscientist and nutrition scientist Alice van der Schoot and former L’Oréal Brand Director Adam Kugler, DITTO combines research, community insight and targeted nutritional solutions for menstrual health.
The company said the funding will support further research projects, the expansion of its science-led supplement portfolio and efforts to reach more consumers.
Evidence-backed products set to define the next generation
The investment comes as the women’s hormonal supplements market continues to grow, with the global category forecast to reach $7.5bn by 2030.
However, DITTO founder and Chief Scientist van der Schoot believes the next generation of successful brands will need to move beyond broad, generic approaches to women’s health.
“Women’s health has many distinct and complex subsections — different conditions, different symptoms, different underlying biology and different life stages — each deserving targeted, expert-level supplements,” she told Nutraceutical Business Review.
Van der Schoot said that while specificity will be important, it must be underpinned by evidence, particularly as consumer trust in the supplement sector comes under increasing scrutiny.
The next generation of successful supplement brands will be those that combine both: specificity and product-level clinical evidence.
Boosting absorption and efficacy
DITTO’s first product, Premenstrual Daily, is designed to support women experiencing menstrual cycle-related symptoms, including those associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
The company says its formulation combines ingredients selected for their evidence base with a proprietary nutrient delivery technology and has been evaluated in a clinical trial of the finished product.
According to DITTO, 88% of women in the trial experienced significantly reduced symptoms.
Van der Schoot said the formulation's delivery system is designed to address a challenge associated with conventional multi-nutrient supplements, where nutrients may compete for the same transporters in the gut and potentially affect absorption.
The company uses beadlet-in-oil technology, with nutrients layered onto beadlets in a specific sequence so they are released in stages rather than simultaneously.
According to van der Schoot, this staggered release is intended to reduce competition between nutrients and improve absorption.
For the wider nutraceutical industry, she said the technology could have commercial significance as consumers increasingly demand demonstrable results from supplements.
“Women are increasingly sceptical that supplements over-promise and under-deliver,” she explained.
It’s the combination of an evidence-based formulation and nutrient delivery biotechnology that makes the supplement highly effective.
Research at the heart of the model
DITTO is also positioning research as a core part of its business model. The company has completed an initial clinical trial, while a larger trial and a real-world evidence study are now underway.
Its research programme also extends into areas including a systematic review examining potential links between premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and ADHD.
The company said its research is supported by a community of more than 300,000 women, which it uses to translate emerging science and better understand the issues affecting its audience.
FoodLabs Operating Partner Flo Breiner described DITTO as "a research platform that develops and sells products," arguing that clinical evidence is increasingly becoming a baseline requirement in menstrual health.
For nutraceutical manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, DITTO’s strategy reflects a broader shift towards more targeted women’s health products, where formulation expertise, delivery technologies and clinical substantiation are increasingly being combined by companies to differentiate products in crowded categories.
With its latest funding, DITTO plans to accelerate research and expand its supplement portfolio, aiming to establish a science-led platform focused on specific menstrual health needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
