The femtech industry is expected to become a $50 billion market by 2025. To capitalise on this growth, London-based Elvie, a leading femtech startup that develops iconic and smart products for women has bagged £58 million in a Series C funding round.
Growth plans ahead
The investment round was led by BGF along with further investment from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Private Equity Partners (“BlackRock”) and a consortium including Hiro Capital and Westerly Winds. Also, existing investors Octopus Ventures and IPGL took part in the round.
The Series C funds will be used to invest in three key areas including innovation and the development of new best-in-class products and services for women, continued expansion into new and existing markets, and strengthening Elvie’s operations and infrastructure ready for the next phase of high-speed growth.
Furthermore, the company will bolster the existing senior team by roping in Daina Spedding, BGF, and Persefoni Noulika, BlackRock to its board. This follows the recent hire of Sarah Highfield, who joined as COO and CFO in September 2020.
Tania Boler, CEO and Founder of Elvie, said: “Elvie has already revolutionised every category it has entered – but we know that we have barely scratched the surface of what is possible for women’s tech. This further investment, alongside the wealth of expertise our new Board members bring, place Elvie in pole position to capitalise on the $50 billion femtech opportunity – and that’s only the beginning.”
Daina Spedding, investor at BGF, said: “BGF is delighted to lead this funding round into Elvie, which we regard as the best-in-class innovator in the femtech sector with strong underlying market dynamics and truly global reach. As an all-female BGF deal team, and leading investor in female-led scaleups, we admire Elvie’s vision, strong track record and R&D capability which have brought a tangible positive impact on women’s lives. We are very excited to back Tania and her exceptional team to supercharge new product innovation and continued growth worldwide.”
Persefoni Noulika, Director, BlackRock Private Equity Partners, said, “Elvie has established itself as a brand innovator within the women’s health and wellness space and has already commercialized two breakthrough, patented and FDA-approved devices. We are pleased to support Tania and Elvie’s management team and help continue the company’s strong growth momentum.”
Cherry Freeman, General Partner at Hiro Capital said: “We are delighted to be investing in Elvie in partnership with Westerly Winds, alongside BlackRock and BGF. Tania is an extraordinary, passionate entrepreneur who has built one of the world’s leading femtech innovators. Hiro invests in brilliant, ethical creators building the next generation of games, fitness technology and digital wellness – Tania’s vision is a perfect fit with our values as a fund.”
Growth amidst pandemic
Elvie, the femtech startup was established in 2013 by Tania Boler. It develops extraordinary products that improve women’s lives and revolutionise categories, which have been overlooked for many years. Its products include an award-winning app-connected Kegel trainer, the Elvie Trainer and the world’s first silent wearable breast pump – Elvie Pump.
The company brought two new breastfeeding products – Elvie Catch and Elvie Curve to the market. Since the launch of Elvie Pump on the catwalk of London Fashion Week in 2018, Elvie has experienced hyper-growth. The business grew 6 times in 2019 and doubled in 2020 despite widespread Covid disruption. Also, it is on track to double again this year.
Elvie launched in 10 new markets across EU and Asia in the last 12 months and continues to see rapid sales growth in the US, the world’s biggest breast pump market. Also, Elvie Pump secured the number 1 position in its category in the US and UK.
Notably, Elvie will continue to drive its leadership in the breast pump category while simultaneously expanding its product portfolio into other key life stages to become a global platform for all women’s health needs.
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