The archive · Health & Care · Financial decision · 2016–2024
Care/of's personalized-vitamin bet: $225M Bayer stake, then a 2024 shutdown
Quiz-based vitamin subscription raised $46M and sold 70% to Bayer for ~$225M, then lost funding and shut down in June 2024, laying off all 143 staff.
Care/of · Bayer
What the business is
Personalized vitamin subscription: users fill out a questionnaire, the company recommends and ships customized nutrition packs monthly; it had been carried at Target, Amazon, and Sam's Club
Starting capital：$46M (Juxtapose, Goodwater, Tusk, Bullish, RRE); in 2020 Bayer acquired 70% in a transaction of about $225M
How it started
In 2016 Craig Elbert and Akash Shah founded Care/of; users filled out a lifestyle and values questionnaire, the company recommended and shipped personalized vitamin combinations accordingly, on a monthly subscription
What happened
Cumulative financing of $46M; in 2020 Bayer acquired 70% equity in a transaction of about $225M; in 2021 entered Target, then entered Amazon and Sam's Club, expanding retail channels
How it ended up
From 2024-06-17 stopped accepting new orders and canceled all subscriptions; 143 employees were laid off before July 3 due to 'loss of funding'; Bayer said it stopped further investment, and the brand shut down
Background
Care/of was founded in 2016 by Craig Elbert and Akash Shah, selling personalized vitamins: users filled out a questionnaire about lifestyle and values, the company recommended and shipped customized nutrition packs accordingly, on a monthly subscription. TechCrunch recorded its investors as including Juxtapose, Goodwater Capital, Tusk Venture Partners, Bullish, and RRE Ventures, with cumulative financing of $46M.
In 2020, Bayer (拜耳) acquired 70% of Care/of in a transaction of about $225M; afterward the brand expanded retail channels, entering Target in 2021 and then Amazon and Sam's Club (Retail Dive). But subscription-based DTC growth did not continue to secure parent-company investment.
On 2024-06-17, Care/of announced on its official website and Instagram that it would stop accepting new orders and cancel all subscriptions, citing 'no longer having funding to operate in the original way'; New York State Department of Labor filings showed that 143 employees would be laid off before July 3 due to 'loss of funding'. Bayer said it stopped further investment; at shutdown the company said it was exploring brand options, and the independent story of personalized vitamins ended.
What has to be true
- Bayer stopped investing in Care/of in 2024; the brand lost its only funding source and shut down.
- The 143-person team was laid off due to 'loss of funding', indicating a funding event, not product failure.
- Retail expansion into Target, Amazon, and Sam's Club failed to secure continued funding.
- After reclassification from growth to cost, the DTC subsidiary had no independent financing.
What can be applied
Being controlled by a large company does not guarantee funding. When the parent company stopped funding, the brand went to zero overnight.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-01: Care/of has ceased operations, its website no longer accepts orders, and 143 employees had been laid off before 2024-07-03; at shutdown the company said it was exploring options for the brand, but subsequent public reports have not shown it resuming operations. The case ends with shutdown caused by the parent company stopping funding.
Sources
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