Grow Fit announces $4.5M in Series A round led by MEMG and others

Growth Story-backed mobile health company Grow Fit has announced $4.5 million in Series A funding led by MEMG (Manipal Education and Medical Group), the PE arm of the Manipal Group.

MEMG MD & CEO Dr. Ranjan Pai will be joining the Board of Directors. The fresh round of funding has also seen the participation of Grow Fit’s seed investors, The SAR Group and The Grover Trust.

The funds will be utilised to expand ten geographical locations which include Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Mumbai. Currently, the startup has 10 patent pending products. The fund will also go into introducing new product lines and in data science and Artificial Intelligence.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys and an early investor in Grow Fit, commented,

“Grow Fit has the ability to address both national and international markets. As prosperity increases globally, our nutritional habits have to compensate for our sedentary lifestyle and dependence on fast foods. Grow Fit has a relevant model that could address this gap and be effective anywhere in the world.”

Founded in February 2016, Grow Fit is a full-stack health tech company that help Indians cure lifestyle diseases by leveraging data science, medical expertise, and personalised inputs. It offers a comprehensive approach combining expert coaching, health foods, and behavioural insights through their scalable technology platform.

Available in both Android and iOS, the Grow Fit app has witnessed a download of three lakh and more than 150,000 diet charts have been generated for users. The company uses data science and machine learning to identify and validate strategies for customer success.

Jyotsna Pattabiraman, Founder and CEO at Grow Fit said, “Grow Fit combines data science, medical science, and behavioural insights to help people achieve their health goals and live their best lives. I am delighted that leading professionals from the Manipal Hospital have validated our approach. Grow Fit now has the backing of one of the top medical groups in the country and we are excited about the next phase of growth with this investment."

Grow Fit also expanded into the functional beverages segment with the acquisition of Drink King, a nutritional beverage platform started in early 2015. The startup earns revenue by charging consumers (who can avail expert advice), selling personalised diet plan and concierge. Grow Fit has a network of 40 experts. Its chat-based coaching programme connects users all over India to experts in mental and physical health and covers sleep, skin and hair, nutrition and exercise.

“Companies which have the right genes can always raise funding, even in a somewhat tight market. Grow Fit’s laser-like focus on customer outcomes sets it apart from others. It takes a unique dedication to go against the conventional wisdom of transactions and the team at Grow Fit has demonstrated this commitment time and again," says K Ganesh, Partner, Growth Story.

According to the World Economic Forum, in India alone, over six million lives are lost every year due to lifestyle diseases and the economic burden of lifestyle diseases has been estimated to be over $4.58 trillion by 2030. A few startups who are betting high on addressing the lifestyle diseases include names like FEDO, eKincare, HealthEminds, ePsyclinic, Diabetacare, BeatO, and more.

Grow Fit now plans to expand solutions to fertility, joint health, stress management, and more. The venture also plans to integrate different sources of data from wearable technology and medical reports in order to make the app a one-stop, comprehensive companion for wellness.

Website: GrowFit