Fay emerges from stealth, raises $20M to connect people to registered dietitians
The company has partnered with insurers to make its services free to most patients
Over half of U.S. adults struggle with diet-related chronic conditions, with many more in need of preventative care. Yet, when it comes to accessing nutritional therapy, patients often encounter several barriers that can impact their health, such as financial restraints and lack of awareness.
"Until recently, nutritional therapy was not even covered by most insurance plans, making it prohibitively expensive and inaccessible to most people. As a result, our country is now dealing with some of the highest numbers of diet-related chronic conditions we’ve ever seen," said Sammy Faycurry, CEO of Fay, a platform that connects people with Registered Dietitian Nutritionists who deliver personalized nutrition counseling. The company officially launched this week, along with a $20 million round of funding.
Fay makes it easier to find highly qualified nutritionists covered by insurance, so people can now get the care they need, and it also lower the cost: while seeing a nutritionist can cost up to $150 per session without insurance, when a patient books through Fay, they're likely to pay closer to $10; in fact, for most people, sessions are free with insurance.
"Fay clients are those looking to achieve a better relationship with food and meet their nutritional needs and goals. Fay dietitians cover over 30 specialities, such as eating disorders, diabetes, kidney disease, weight management, gut health, general preventative care, and many more, offering services for everyone," said Faycurry.
Fay dietitians focus on clinically-proven methods including intuitive eating principles, meal planning, food journaling, and more. People using Fay meet 1x1 with a dietitian who creates a customized nutrition plan for their specific needs. There are currently 1,000 providers on the platform to date, and Fay is projected to exceed 2,000 providers by 2025.
The company has partnered with major health insurance providers, including United Healthcare, Aetna CVS, Blue Cross, Anthem, Cigna, Optum, and Humana, and the company also provides employees with a personal nutritionist and is included in employer health plans at Google and Accenture.
To date, Fay has helped tens of thousands of patients with nutrition care, 93% percent of whom report a positive change in their relationship with food. In addition, nine out of 10 people adopt behaviors that improve their overall health and wellbeing.
While there are other companies and brands that offer preventative care focused on food and nutrition, including Nourish, Foodsmart, Berry Street, GoodRX, and Season Health, Fay is "poised to lead the category" as it has "the nation's largest and fastest-growing network of Registered Dietitians in all 50 states," said Faycurry.
"Fay differentiates itself by empowering dietitians to be independent practitioners with their own AI-powered business in a box, which leverages advanced natural language processing to streamline dietitian workflows, akin to what Harvey.ai is doing for lawyers," she explained.
"The platform automates labor-intensive tasks like initial drafts of meal plans and automates admin work, allowing Registered Dietitians to work more efficiently."
The new Series A funding round, which brings Fay's total raised to $25 million, was led by Forerunner Ventures with participation from General Catalyst and 1984. This funding comes a year after an unannounced seed round led by General Catalyst; Fay is also backed by founders at Grow Therapy and Maven Clinic.
The company plans to use the investment to further accelerate growth and enrich its offerings for both dietitians and their clients. That includes additional AI-powered capabilities to assist providers with running their practices, as well as expanding the patient-facing experience to drive better patient engagement and outcomes. Fay also plans to expand access to nutrition care by adding additional insurance plans and investing in employer partnerships.
"Fay’s goal is to help millions of people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. To accomplish this our objective is to transform the American healthcare system from one that treats people when they are sick to one that acts proactively. Fay is fostering a new era in healthcare where accessible and effective nutrition care benefits all parties involved: patients, providers, and payors," said Faycurry.
(Image source: faynutrition.com)
