Gainful

Gainful

Custom protein powders and hydration subscriptions

Overview

Gainful creates personalized nutrition by offering customized protein powders and hydration products. Customers start with a quiz on Gainful’s site to determine their specific nutritional needs and fitness goals, and Gainful uses the results to craft a personalized protein blend tailored to each individual. These products are sold on a subscription basis, delivering personalized blends and hydration on a regular schedule for convenience and predictable revenue. The company differentiates itself through a focus on quality and safety, using clean ingredients with no unnecessary additives, plus options to customize flavor with flavor boosts. Its goal is to help fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and health-conscious individuals reach their health and training targets through tailored nutrition while maintaining a steady, recurring business model.

YC Company

About Gainful

Simplify's Rating
Why Gainful is rated
B-
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Food & Agriculture

Healthcare

Consumer Goods

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$7.6M

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2017

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Eden partnership on August 12, 2025, captures GLP-1 users needing tailored nutrition support.
  • Chelsea Piers Fitness collaboration expands on-site distribution to gym members.
  • Recharge migration on November 20, 2024, boosts retention via bundles and prepaid subscriptions.

What critics are saying

  • Liquid I.V. erodes hydration share through 40,000+ retail stores in 6-12 months.
  • GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic slash protein demand by 30-50% in 6-18 months.
  • Huel's $2.50 complete shakes cannibalize Gainful's bundles in 12-24 months.

What makes Gainful unique

  • Gainful customizes protein blends using over 100 million data points for seven distinct formulas.
  • Subscribers receive free one-on-one access to registered dietitians for personalized plans.
  • Hydration products deliver four key electrolytes with only 2 grams sugar, 85% less than competitors.

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Funding

Total Funding

$7.6M

Below

Industry Average

Funded Over

2 Rounds

Notable Investors:
Series A funding typically happens when a startup has a product and some customers, and now needs funding to scale. This money is usually used to grow the team, expand marketing, and improve the product. Venture capital firms are frequently the main investors here.
Series A Funding Comparison
Below Average

Industry standards

$15M
$7.5M
Gainful
$8.2M
Discord
$15M
Canva
$30M
Kalshi

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-3%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

0%
Yahoo Finance
Aug 12th, 2025
Eden and Gainful(R) Join Forces to Support the GLP-1 Journey With Personalized Nutrition

DENVER, Aug. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Eden, the health platform that connects members with independent, licensed providers for personalized health care, today announced a partnership with Gainful, the leader in clean, personalized performance nutrition.

Athletech News
May 12th, 2025
Chelsea Piers Fitness Partners with Gainful to Introduce Personalized Nutrition On-Site

Chelsea Piers Fitness partners with Gainful to introduce personalized nutrition on-site.

PR Newswire
Nov 20th, 2024
Gainful Partners With Recharge To Power Smarter Subscriptions For Personalized Nutrition

The nutrition brand, which specializes in customized supplements and powders integral to subscribers' daily routines, will use the Recharge platform to retain, manage, delight, and grow their customers. SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Recharge, the leading subscription platform, today announced that Gainful, the personalized nutrition company, has migrated their subscription business to the Recharge platform. The partnership will see Gainful collaborate with Recharge to fulfill their mission of thoughtfully serving their hundreds of thousands of customers through highly personalized nutrition solutions. Historically a subscription-only brand, Gainful has delivered over one million personalized solutions to hundreds of thousands of customers since launching in 2017. With Recharge, Gainful will continue to bolster their subscriber retention strategies and drive revenue with best-in-class features and tools like Recharge's Bundles, prepaid subscriptions, and more

AgFunderNews
Dec 1st, 2023
Meet The Founder: Nutrition Gets Personal For Bioniq’S Vadim Fedotov

From high-tech platforms analyzing blood, stools and DNA to create tailored nutritional recommendations, to lifestyle apps deploying psychology to help users manage their food consumption, dietary advice is getting increasingly personal. But how compelling is the business case for personalized nutrition? And is it a gamechanger that could move the needle on public health, or just the latest tech craze enabling a small group of affluent and highly engaged consumers get even more granular about their health and wellness?. From Viome, Baze, Rootine and Inside Tracker to Gainful, Ritual and Persona (Nestlé), there are now scores of companies offering personalized nutritional advice, foods and supplements, says Bioniq founder and CEO Vadim Fedetov. But creating a viable business model around the delivery of highly customized services is challenging

AgFunderNews
May 8th, 2023
Exclusive: My Food Job Rocks! Adam Yee Teams Up With Gainful Cofounder Eric Wu To Launch ‘Asian Comfort Food’ Brand Sobo Foods

“If you look in the Asian section of the frozen food aisle, it’s kind of a wasteland when it comes to better-for-you products,” observes Eric Wu, cofounder of Sobo Foods, a startup emerging from stealth with $1 million in funding. As for branding, he says: “It’s at best tone deaf, and at worst, reliant on borderline racist tropes.”. California-based Sobo Foods, he says, is on a mission is to reimagine Asian comfort food for a new generation of consumers. The brainchild of Wu, who cofounded personalized nutritional supplements co Gainful in 2017 while still at college, and Adam Yee, alt protein entrepreneur and host of the high-profile My Food Job Rocks​​ podcast, the plant-based brand is launching this week in the San Francisco Bay Area

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