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WellTheory, a whole-person virtual care platform for individuals with autoimmune diseases, is partnering with grocery technology company Instacart to provide eligible WellTheory members with a stipend to purchase clinically recommended food.
San Francisco-based WellTheory offers nutrition and lifestyle coaching to individuals with autoimmune diseases, along with ongoing support from a team of registered dietitians and board-certified health coaches.
The company provides individuals with appointments with coaches and dietitians between medical visits with physicians and specialists, as well as unlimited messaging access to experts.
Instacart Health Fresh Funds allows providers, nonprofits, insurers and employers to offer category-specific food stipends for fresh and frozen produce that recipients can redeem with a code on Instacart.
The partnership integrates Instacart Health Fresh Funds into WellTheory's care model, allowing approximately 300,000 eligible individuals in WellTheory's network to receive a stipend to purchase clinically recommended foods from their local grocers through Instacart.
"We've learned that the real power in autoimmune care comes from small, consistent daily actions – but only if people can actually take those actions," Claire Rudolph, cofounder and head of product at WellTheory, told MobiHealthNews.
"By integrating Instacart's Fresh Funds with our curated shopping lists and personalized care plans, we're transforming nutrition recommendations from abstract advice into immediate, actionable steps that drive meaningful symptom reduction."
THE LARGER TREND
In October, WellTheory announced it secured $14 million in Series A funding, bringing its total raise to $26.2 million.
General Catalyst led the round, with participation from new and existing investors 7wire Ventures, Ingeborg Investments, Leaps by Bayer, Up2 Opportunity Fund, Accel and Box Group.
The company secured $5 million in funding in May and unveiled two new AI tools: Care Scribe and Care Hub.
Care Scribe is an AI-powered tool that helps care teams transcribe conversations, draft follow-up notes and create personalized care plans, which can be reviewed and customized by a provider.
Care Hub "acts as a unified command center for WellTheory's providers," the company said. It aggregates member data, session history and lab insights. It also allows for automated compliance tracking.
In 2022, the company launched with $7.2 million in seed funding in a round led by Accel, with participation from Box Group, Lux Capital, Rock Health, Scribble Ventures, and the CEOs of Maven, Everlane and Pillpack.
WellTheory has announced several partnerships over the last couple of years, including its first payer deal with Sentara Health Plans, which provides Virginia and Florida members with 12 months of access to autoimmune care.
Last year, the company announced its first employer partnership with virtual women and family health provider Maven Clinic to offer its employees access to nutrition and lifestyle coaching from WellTheory.
