Even today, discussing certain women’s health and wellness topics makes some people uncomfortable. Topics such as menstruation, contraception, fertility and urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common issues which affect millions and millions of women around the world and yet they remain taboo. But there’s one new female startup which is applying science to these topics and the results are bringing women’s health out of the shadows.
The female-founded startup is called CRANEL and it’s helping improve women’s lives and make it easier for them to freely discuss the health issues which affect them when it comes to UTIs and pH levels. The company offers a subscription-based service which provides a solution to UTIs – something around 50–60% of women will experience in their lifetime.
CRANEL was co-founded by Christine Jurzenski and Erica Schultz after they realised the current products on the market for UTIs didn’t contain enough active ingredients and some actually contained synthetic sugar which can make UTIs worse.
So Jurzenski and Schultz started the company with their goal to make products which help women’s health but also to make women feel empowered to ask questions about their health and informed enough to make educated choices about the solutions and products they used.
By applying scientific data to women’s health, CRANEL is now producing a product which sold out twice over the last year. Sales are up 350% from 2020 year-to-date with 90% of customers purchasing the four pack to drink weekly. Turbocharging their vision to transform the discussion around women’s health, Jurzenski and Schultz have also just closed a $1 million seed round across private equity and consumer executives, fund managers, and notable family offices. Of this $1 million in capital, 80% came from male investors.
Statistics show one in four women are resistant to antibiotics due to over-prescription of these medications for UTIs. Often women who’ve had a lot of antibiotics can be more susceptible to small infections over the long term. CRANEL produces a more natural product with each elixr packed with 3,000 cranberries which is equivalent to 10 cranberry tablets or 60 bottles of standard cranberry juice.
Here’s some more about the CRANEL product
CRANEL is backed by science and comes with pH test kits which will show you’re susceptible to a UTI. The product has zero sugar, flavours and colours. Clinically-proven to show anti-adhesion properties for UTIs, CRANEL works 30% faster than tablets and can be delivered to your door each month. The 100mL shots are made with highly concentrated pure cranberries which contain the seeds, skins and juice of 3,000 cranberries per serve.
According to Jurzenski and Schultz, when you say ‘cranberry’ and ‘UTI’ in a sentence, there’s usually a quick nod of acknowledgement from women given that over 60% of them will suffer from a UTI in their lifetime. But on the other hand, less than 30% of men will as well. These health statistics have been front and centre when the female founders of CRANEL were educating potential investors on their product because UTIs are a number one infection which can lead to hospitalisation but also, antibiotic resistance afterwards.
CRANEL quick facts: 
Comes in a 100mL shot of highly concentrated cranberry
Contains the whole cranberry: seeds, skins and juice
There are 3000 cranberries per shot
Each shot contains 500mg of Proanthocyanidins (PACs) – the active ingredient which flushes out bacteria
Each shot has 17 calories
There is no added sugar, flavourings or colourings
One shot is equivalent to drinking 60 litres of standard cranberry juice or 10 cranberry tablets
Clinically-proven to flush bacteria from the urinary tract
For more information about CRANEL, visit here.
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