Folks We Love: Alex Taylor + Victoria Thain Gioia, co-Founders of Perelel
Today on Folks We Love we’re thrilled to introduce Alex Taylor and Victoria Thain Gioia, mamas and founders or Perelel.
The story of Perelel, began in 2018 when Alex and Victoria, found themselves pregnant and frustrated with their prenatal vitamins. When they learned that they were both going through a similar experience with their prenatals, they decided to dig deeper. They discovered that there was essentially no regulation in the prenatal industry, no specifications around the ingredients included, and perhaps worst of all, little information as to what should even be in a prenatal. What was even more surprising was that this applied to the entire category of vitamins, too. Turns out, timing is critical in nutrition—not only during pregnancy, but other stages of a woman's reproductive lifecycle, too.
We caught up with Alex and Victoria to chat all things mamahood, entrepreneurhood and everything in-between!
Where are you from?
ALEX TAYLOR (AT): Los Angeles, CA
VICTORIA THAIN GIOIA (VTG): Rye, NY
Tell us about your family
AT: My husband and I have two children: Presley, age 4, and Stella, age 2. Our “third child” is our sweet goldendoodle, Louie.
VTG: My husband and I have three children: Finn, age 5, Imogen, age 4 and Pippa, age 2.
Can you share with us the story behind Perelel and the catalyst for starting it?
AT: After navigating the winding road of my own fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum journey, the need to create a brand for new millennial moms like me became abundantly clear. As I was struggling through postpartum while also managing a thyroid disease, I felt failed by the brands and information available to me. I knew I wasn’t alone and there had to be a better way to support today’s woman. As consumers, we had every convenience at our fingertips and yet when it came to our own health, we were left to do our own research and go it alone. And so, in a moment of clarity after a New Year’s day hike, I decided once and for all that I was done building brands for everyone else and I was ready to build a brand of my own. As luck would have it, a mutual friend introduced me to my co-founder, Tori, who happened to have a complimentary set of skills to me. She was all business: finance, operations, strategy. However, like me, she also felt there was a better way to support today's woman in the health and wellness category.
Tori’s daughter was born with a cleft lip, even though she didn’t have any common risk factors or a genetic link. As someone who had gone to great lengths to take all of the right vitamins, read all of the right research, and was lucky enough to have an incredible OB/GYN, Tori was shocked to learn how much was left unsaid for women during pregnancy.
When Tori and I learned that we were both experiencing frustrations with our prenatals vitamins, we decided to dig deeper. We discovered that there was essentially no regulation in the prenatal vitamin industry, no specifications around the ingredients, and perhaps worst of all, little information as to what women needed to support them throughout this life stage. The only available prenatals on the market took a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition that failed to deliver adequate dosages of the appropriate nutrients at times when they’re needed most throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Most importantly, we learned that just as a woman’s hormones change throughout her reproductive life cycle, so too do her nutritional needs. This same principle applies throughout pregnancy—trimester to trimester, from fertility through postpartum. That was the lightbulb moment: Why isn’t there a vitamin solution that does the heavy lifting for the consumer? Why are we all sourcing multiple vitamins from different sources on our own? Why isn’t there a prenatal vitamin that optimizes nutrients for each stage of a woman’s pregnancy? And finally, why aren’t there any women’s vitamin brands founded by the experts who know best—OB/GYNs? It was then that we knew we had to create Perelel and saw an opportunity to support women by offering targeted formulations for every stage of womanhood, starting in the prenatal vitamin category. Since neither of us were doctors, we took the concept to a highly respected OB/GYN who quickly validated our idea and encouraged us to move forward. From there, we brought on Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, who has been a practicing OB/GYN here in LA for over 25 years as our Medical Co-Founder, and began building Perelel. We then pulled together a team of world-class doctors with different areas of expertise to help bring our vision to life; today they make up our founding advisory team, which we refer to as our “Perelel Panel.”
What was the process like when starting Perelel?
AT: It was tough, but that’s to be expected. We launched in September 2020, which was a challenge in and of itself. Bringing a business to life in the early stages of a global pandemic amidst uncertainty in the market was scary. Supply chains were disrupted, consumer habits were shifting, and investors were focused on salvaging their existing investments, which made fundraising nearly impossible (especially early on in the pandemic). But, constraints often beget creativity and that was exactly the case for us. We came up with interesting solutions and work-arounds that allowed us to lay a healthy foundation for the business we have today. When Tori and I officially decided to launch Perelel, our goal was to “go live” on September 1, 2020. While we didn’t hit our exact launch date, even with all the curveballs 2020 threw our way (including two pregnancies; Tori with her third child, me with my second), we still managed to launch Perelel on September 30, 2020. Since then, we’ve focused on growing the brand while continuing to deliver our customers with a seamless, supportive experience regardless of where they are in their motherhood journey.
What makes Perelel different from other prenatals?
AT: We are the first and only OB/GYN-founded prenatal vitamin offering trustworthy targeted, comprehensive vitamin routines for each unique stage of the motherhood journey—from preconception through pregnancy and into postpartum.
What is the number one thing you would love people to know about the prenatal / postnatal supplement industry?
VTG: The lack of regulation is startling – there is essentially none. There is no concrete, widely adopted standard for pre/postnatal vitamin ingredients and little information available on what nutrients are most critical to both maternal and fetal health. On top of this, what people often don’t realize is that a woman's body requires different nutritional support for each life stage it goes through. That’s why we created Perelel because it dynamically changes with women to give them the exact nutrients they need, in the right doses, at the right time.
What do you hope to see change in the fertility / women's health realm?
AT: Women’s health is one of the most under-funded and under-researched sectors of medicine. We’d love to see more advocacy to support women’s health and research as well as widespread education so women can make informed decisions about their health. There’s a huge gap and health shouldn’t feel like a guessing game.
The biggest challenges you have faced as entrepreneurs on the Perelel journey?
VTG: When it came time for us to raise capital, we received several no’s from potential investors because many deemed women's health as "too niche" and motherhood as "too short a window.” We had to face the reality that a majority of people didn’t see the value in catering to women's reproductive health. Fortunately, we aligned ourselves with investors who understood the tremendous opportunity of supporting women not just through this crucial life stage surrounding pregnancy, but beyond it.
Between fundraising, working with third-party operators, and supply-chain dependencies, there’s never a dull moment. We tackle roadblocks together as they come up, which has ultimately strengthened our relationship as partners and laid a strong foundation for what we’ve grown our brand into today.
If you could give mamas looking to start a business one piece of advice?
AT: We were in a very unique position when we began creating Perelel. It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in addition to being first time entrepreneurs, we were both pregnant. We knew our journey wasn’t going to be that easy but our shared vision of creating a world with more healthy, supported women was what kept us going when we felt defeated. For any moms looking to venture into entrepreneurship, do it unapologetically. Hone in on your values and cultivate a brand that supports its consumer beyond products. At the end of the day, the rewarding feeling of having an impact on your consumers, brand and world is all worth it.
Your number one prenatal / conception tip?
Start taking your vitamins early! It can take up to 3 months for your body to build proper nutrient stores.
Your number one postnatal tip?
Take care of yourself & willingly accept (or ask for) help.
Supplements aside, what else is in your wellness tool-kit / what are your basic wellness tenets when you strip it all back?
VTG: Exercise is my go-to wellness, destress and making some “me time” to refresh myself.
AT: I meditate every day, no compromise. I also try to move my body regularly, too.
What do you love most about being a mama?
VTG: Everything
AT: The boundless love that I have for my children, but also the selflessness, compassion, and grit I discovered within myself.
What is the most challenging part of being a mama?
VTG: Everything
AT: Meal time.
How do you juggle mom life / work life?
AT: Candidly, I cannot say that I have mastered “balance” whatsoever—it’s lopsided depending on what the needs of my business are at any given moment or my children. I do my best to be ruthless with the way I prioritize my time, but the bottom line is that it’s hard and there’s no way around that truth. Women, especially moms, are systematically set up to fail when occupying both roles. A lot has to change to genuinely pave a path to “balanced living” for working moms.
VTG: A very detailed family schedule and.. wine?
What does mama me-time look like for you?
AT: Dinner with my friends, hiking alone with my dog, meditation or a nice long run.
VTG: An early morning workout, walk to grab coffee listening to a podcast and a good martini (at night..)!
Something you recently watched and loved?
AT: Chelsea Handler’s new standup on Netflix was pretty hilarious.
VTG: Newest season of White Lotus - obsessed with Meghann Fahy
What would we find on your playlist?
AT: If you look at my Spotify favorites, it would tell you the Frozen soundtrack but what I actually love to listen to is Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Leon Bridges, and some really good jazz by the likes of Coleman Hawkins.
VTG: Taylor Swift and frozen
What are you reading?
AT: I just started Sea of Tranquility. It’s a slow start but I am sticking with it because I've heard good things.
VTG: Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
Motto you live by?
AT: “Smile, breath, and go slowly” - Thich Nich Khan
Greatest lesson you have learnt to date?
AT: You have to live life on life’s terms.
VTG: With kids, you need to learn to let go a bit!
4 things you can't live without?
AT: My Deborah Pagani golden hair pin, Oak Essentials lip balm, my Perelel Mom Multi daily vitamin pack, and Hourglass lipstick.
VTG: My 3 children and coffee (these things must go together!)
Alex and Victoria have kindly organised a discount for our Your Zen Mama community! Use code ZEN15 for 15% off your first order at perelel.co! Follow along on their Instagram too @perelelhealth