Plant People secures investment from private equity firm Manna Tree

The startup was founded in 2018, in response to founders Hudson Davis-Ross and Gabe Kennedy’s respective spinal surgery recoveries, which spurred a greater interest in health and wellness.

Initially, Plant People struggled during the Covid-19, Davis-Ross said. At the time, the brand was primarily selling its original capsules and tinctures in independent boutiques, many of which had closed during lockdowns. “It took us about two years before we got back on our feet in 2022,” which included pivoting to gummy supplements, Davis-Ross said. Fast forward to this year, and Plant People’s revenue is up 95% over last year, which the company hopes will accelerate next year through additional investment in marketing and operations. Plant People currently sells at Whole Foods Market, Sprouts and Erewhon, and most recently launched in Target in October. The capital injection will be used to further grow and market its slate of supplements. 

The brand makes sugar-free and gluten-free functional gummies that target different needs, like immunity, gut health and stress. While most of its products are known for being plant-based, Plant People also offers a collagen-based gummy. The brand’s most recent product release is WonderBurn, a weight management and metabolism-boosting gummy. It also has a hydration product, which Davis-Ross said is a way for the company to “bring the gummy strategy” to a hot category. 

The fundraise comes at a period when investors and retailers remain bullish on health and wellness products. According to McKinsey & Company, the consumer wellness category hit a global market of $2 trillion in the first half of 2025, despite macroeconomic volatility.

Davis-Ross, who also serves as the company’s CEO, told Modern Retail that the founders are excited about bringing on investors “because every quarter has been our best quarter in company history, up to last quarter.”

“We are really hitting our stride right now,” Davis-Ross added. “The business is now a low-eight-figure [business], and we’ll probably be a mid-eight-figure business by the end of next year.” This year, the brand’s TikTok sales also grew 200% year-over-year. 

“We think of wholesale [as] discovery, while Amazon is decision [based on convenience], and DTC is [customer] devotion,” he said. He added that the DTC channel “is performing well and very stable and profitable,” and Amazon has recently accelerated in growth.

The fresh capital will be used to support this distribution expansion. “We want to throw more marketing spend at the business and more on brand awareness,” along with making a few key hires in operations and marketing, Davis-Ross said.

Over the years, the company has had several investors reach out, including a few PE firms and VCs, Davis-Ross said. “We have a runway for 18-plus months right now without the raise, and we’re profitable,” Davis-Ross said. “But this is a business, and the goal is to get to an exit.” 

Davis-Ross also acknowledged the number of emerging competitors in the supplement space, as well as major established players like Olly (owned by Unilever) and SmartyPants. “In order to keep ourselves on the wave and grow faster to an exit, fundraising right now makes the most sense,” he said. 

For Manna Tree, the investment is an opportunity to get into the hot supplements space.

When the Manna Tree team first met with Plant People, the brand was still at $4 million in revenue, below where the firm would typically invest. But after monitoring the growth, including through Spins’s shelf data and customer retention, Manna Tree decided to take a stake in the supplement startup.

Steve Young, managing partner at Manna Tree Partners, said Plant People makes sense as an addition to its portfolio, as it sits at the intersection of food and wellness. The firm has previously invested in food companies like Vital Farms, Good Culture and Gotham Greens, among other better-for-you food and beverages. “If you look at where the consumer is going and what is going to drive retail, health and wellness has the most pronounced tailwind behind it,” Young said.

Young said that, more than ever, people are shifting to healthier food and beverages to live longer, healthier lives. “But it’s not just what you eat; it’s also how you top up your nutrition and what you eat with the right supplements,” he said.

And as brands Grüns and Olly have shown, the clean-label gummy supplement category is booming right now.

Rachel Hirsch, founder and managing partner of Wellness Growth Ventures, said there is a reason that interest in the better-for-you gummy supplements is at an all-time high. “That’s because gummies sell better than pills,” Hirsch said, adding that the format is a much easier sell than a pill or powder mix. 

“Sales drive decisions, and from an investor lens, I get it,” Hirsch said. “We have a fiduciary duty to return capital to our LPs. Gummies move units, and they build big, profitable businesses, and if that’s what consumers are buying right now, we back them.”

At the same time, Hirsch remains skeptical of the format’s long term potential. “From a true wellness perspective, this is psychology and convenience masquerading as innovation,” she said. “We’ve turned medicine into candy and called it wellness.” 

Plant People, which formulates its gummies with sugar substitute maltitol, hopes to stand out from the sea of options. Davis-Ross said the timing of the Series A round is evident of the company’s growth trajectory. 

“The main reason we’re raising money right now is that the business model is dialed in,” Davis-Ross said. “We are no longer pitching a dream. It just needs more fuel for the fire as we go into bigger retailers.”