CASE STUDY
Ahara had the science, the AI, and two founders who had already changed their industries. The challenge was making the world pay attention at launch.
Client Ahara Category Personalized Nutrition / Health Technology
Services PR, Earned Media, Thought Leadership, Brand Storytelling
The Situation
Ahara was built on more than 300 clinical studies. Its patent-pending AI analyzed genetic, epigenetic, and biomarker data to deliver personalized food and supplement recommendations grounded in an individual’s biology. In a supplement category full of generalized advice, Ahara put the individual first.
Launching a first-of-its-kind platform in a crowded health technology market meant competing for attention against simpler stories and bigger budgets. The science was rigorous and the technology was genuinely new. Getting the right people to stop and pay attention was the work.
The Insight
Ahara had two founders. One was a physician who had spent her career at the intersection of nutrition science and clinical practice. The other had built The RealReal from the ground up into a company with roughly $2 billion in GMV.
In health technology, the product story and the founder story are rarely equal. Here, they were.
Julie Wainwright’s name opened doors in business and technology media that a nutrition brand alone could not. Once those doors were open, the science and the product did the rest.
The Approach
NBP built a PR strategy around both founders simultaneously, recognizing that each unlocked a different set of conversations.
Julie Wainwright’s profile gave us access to business, technology, and entrepreneurship media, publications and journalists who would not typically cover a nutrition launch but would cover a founder of her caliber. Dr. Melina Jampolis gave us credibility in health, wellness, and clinical media, where her food-first philosophy and physician credentials carried real weight.
We pursued both tracks in parallel, targeting publications whose audiences were ready to engage with either the innovation story or the health outcomes. The result was a range of coverage that demonstrated Ahara’s relevance across audiences — Fast Company, Axios, Fortune, and Forbes alongside Women’s World, Health, and a segment on Live with Kelly & Mark.
Throughout, we facilitated interviews, podcasts, and expert commentary that reinforced both the scientific authority and the entrepreneurial credibility behind the brand.
The Impact
$11M raised following the launch, led by Greycroft
Features in Fast Company, Axios, Fortune, Forbes, Women’s World, Health, and Live with Kelly & Mark
Ahara’s co-CEOs and medical advisors established as thought leaders in personalized nutrition at the intersection of science and technology
Ahara had the science, the founders, and a product the category had never seen. The work was making sure the right people knew it at launch.
Media Placements
- Why The RealReal founder Julie Wainwright launched another startup in her mid-60s – Fortune
- Julie Wainwright led Pets.com and The RealReal to IPOs. Why she’s back with a new nutrition startup – Fast Company
- Will AI Mimic the Dot-Com Bubble? – RetailWire
- Julie Wainwright’s Next Venture Is All About Nutrition – WWD
- Julie Wainwright is back with a new, venture-backed startup – TechCrunch