HUM Nutrition, the leading beauty nutrition company of vitamins, supplements and powders in America, today announced a $5 million Series A investment round with participation from CircleUp Growth Partners, Natalie Massenet and Nick Brown's Imaginary Ventures, and Strand Equity Partners.

Founded in 2012 by Walter Faulstroh and Chris Coleridge and based in Los Angeles, California, HUM Nutrition's formulas target major skin and body concerns from the inside out. All products are non-gmo, gluten-free, natural, clinically tested, researched and formulated by leading nutrition experts. Brightly packaged with clever names, the brand brings confidence, positivity and happiness to consumers.

HUM has already reached profitability and seen strong quarterly growth of 30 percent or more for the past 12 quarters. The investment is the company's first round of institutional funding. HUM had been privately funded through angel investors that have backed the HUM founders in previous ventures.

"We couldn't be more excited about HUM and believe it to be one of the first truly authentic ingestible beauty brands. We look forward to partnering with the Founders as they continue to grow their vision," say Nick Brown and Natalie Massenet of Imaginary.

The Series A will further accelerate HUM's growth and allow the brand to invest into long-term initiatives that will sustain its leadership in the fast emerging inner beauty category including product innovation, ramped up production and talent recruitment.

"HUM is pioneering an exciting new area in personal care that's rapidly growing in popularity-ingestible beauty," said Ben Lee, Managing Director of Funds, CircleUp. "The emerging category is at the intersection of two very large industries dominated by incumbents that have dated products and brands out-of-touch with modern consumers: beauty and supplements. HUM's proven and passionate executive team, data-driven, personalized approach to building customer relationships, as well as strong traction in Sephora and other leading retailers make it a highly compelling brand for us to partner with."

"We are fortunate enough to be a profitable, fast growing start-up, which allowed us to take time finding the most aligned investors that offer a great understanding of our space and the know-how to help us implement our vision," says Walter Faustroh, CEO of HUM Nutrition. "We feel extremely thrilled to have a unique set of skills around the table and the additional firepower to further widen our lead in this exciting new category."

About HUM Nutrition
HUM Nutrition is the leading beauty nutrition company of vitamins, supplements and powders that are clinically proven to make you look great and feel even greater.

HUM's unique and ultra specific formulations are designed around skin and body concerns. All formulations are made in California, Non GMO, Gluten Free, Pure and Potent. Working with the best scientists, HUM has developed innovative supplements for fuller hair, stronger nails, dry skin, acne and breakouts, fine lines, digestive support, stress, energy and weight.

www.humnutrition.com

About Imaginary Ventures
Founded by Nick Brown and Natalie Massenet in 2017, Imaginary is an early stage, consumer focused venture capital firm based in New York. Massenet previously founded Net-a-Porter in 2000 and grew it to over $1 Billion in revenue by 2015; in addition, she currently serves as Non Executive Co-Chairman of FarFetch and Chairman of the British Fashion Council. Nick Brown was previously Partner at 14W and has participated in the financing rounds of Everlane, Warby Parker, Reformation, Glossier, Goop, Outdoor Voices, The Real Real and others. Imaginary has a strong focus on retail, with investments in Farfetch, Daily Harvest, Dirty Lemon, Appear Here, Reformation and others.

www.imaginary.co

About CircleUp
CircleUp is the investment platform providing capital and resources to innovative, early-stage consumer brands. CircleUp is comprised of internally-managed funds, an investment marketplace and credit division, which are all powered Helio, its proprietary machine learning platform that evaluates 1.2 million consumer businesses to predict future business success. Founded in 2012, CircleUp is backed by Union Square Ventures, GV, Canaan Partners, QED Advisors, Rose Parks Advisors, and former leaders of Goldman Sachs, Capital One and Stanford Endowment.

www.circleup.com

About Strand Equity Partners
The investment in HUM was led by Seth Rodsky, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Strand Equity. Strand Equity Partners ("Strand") is a leading growth equity fund focused on making investments in emerging and dynamic consumer brands. Strand adds value to its portfolio companies through its marketing and operational expertise as well as its extensive network of industry relationships. Strand investments include Artsy, Chop't, Dos Toros, Hippeas, Revive Kombucha, Sweaty Betty, Thom Browne, Vita Coco, WTRMLN WTR and Bai Brands, which recently sold to Dr Pepper Snapple Group for $1.7Bn, to name a few.