MyFitnessPal raises $18M from KPBC & Accel

The health and fitness app gets its first round of funding from top VC firms

After refusing to buy new jeans for months because I was determined to get back into my old pre-pregnancy jeans, I finally caved. The pre-pregnancy jeans will stay in the closet, where they’ll spend the rest of their lives weeping in the dark for their lost potential. But I bought my new jeans on the snug side because I’m going to make this work, dammit!

I know I’m not the only doughy mom to join MyFitnessPal in an effort to drop those last few pounds. I first heard about it a year ago from other doughy moms. Now, after exceeding 40 million members who have lost a combined 100 million pounds, MyFitnessPal has raised its first round of funding to the tune of $18 million. The Series A round was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with help from Accel Partners. John Doerr and Andrew Braccia have both joined the company’s board.

Launched in 2005, MyFitnessPal has been steadily amassing users who are drawn to the app’s easy-to-use nutrition diary. The database now includes over three million foods and hundreds of different types of exercises. Over the past year, MyFitnessPal has been adding 1.5 million additional users each month.

“MyFitnessPal has successfully built a category defining consumer technology company in the span of only a few short years,” said Accel’s Andrew Braccia, in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with MyFitnessPal as they continue to execute their mission to improve the health and wellness of millions across the world.”

Earlier this year, MyFitnessPal outperformed Weight Watchers on user satisfaction, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. While Weight Watchers remains dieters’ first option (chosen by four out of 10 Consumer Reports readers), MyFitnessPal got a higher satisfaction score.

In June, MyFitnessPal teamed up with RunKeeper to better track activity and daily calorie budget.

Also in June, MyFitnessPal’s mobile app and website became available in French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. The company plans to add Italian, Russian, and the Nordic languages soon. In addition to the new languages, the service also added local units of measure, such as kilograms, stone, meters, kilometers, and kilojoules. It also added a bigger international database of foods (have you ever tried to count the calories in blood pudding?) as well as localized message boards and groups.

And of course, the company added Facebook integration last December, making it easier to find friends (before, you had to know a person’s email address or user name to add them).

Founders Mike and Albert Lee plan to use the new funds to expand the product and team, as well as audience reach. 

Image source: rippedclub.net