Perhaps you’ve seen Cymbiotika’s liposomal supplements on your favorite influencer’s ShopMy. The colorful packets of vitamin C, glutathione and elderberry can be found at Erewhon, Sprouts and, now, Target. And on November 14, the brand launched four of its hero products — the Liposomal Glutathione, Liposomal Vitamin C, Liposomal Magnesium Complex and Irish Sea Moss — in all Target stores and on Target.com. A week prior, it launched its first out-of-home Wellness Tour, which kicked off in Target’s hometown of Minneapolis and has continued with a run club, in partnership with the rapper Gunna. It’s been a busy time for the supplement brand, which launched in 2019.
Coinciding with the start of the tour, Cymbiotika announced it had raised its first-ever external funding — a $25 million seed round. The brand, which is doing over $150 million in annual revenue, has delivered triple-digit growth over the past five years. Hospitality entrepreneur Dave Grutman led the round, which included investments from celebrities including The Weeknd, Post Malone, Peggy Gou and The Jonas Brothers, among others.
“We didn’t do it for the capital, and we were very selective about the celebrities and influencers who approached us,” said Durana Elmi, co-founder and COO. “We really want to change the world, so we [considered] the thought leaders out there that you may respect, listen to and watch — people who are thought-leaders in professional settings and within their ecosystems, where they [can say], ‘Hey, I’m using Cymbiotica,’ and it’s [influential]. If it’s someone in beauty, Cymbiotica is why my skin glows — or, if it’s an athlete, it’s why my recovery is good. If it’s a business person, like Daymond John, it’s why I’m [able to be] on-the-go in the business world — because my gut health is good.”
According to Elmi and Cymbiotika CMO Andrei Najjar, Kendall Jenner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rihanna are also fans of the company.
The Wellness Tour started with the brand setting up a branded art installation in Minneapolis. NBA All-Star Julius Randle and former NFL tight end Kyle Rudolph attended to help celebrate and promote the reveal of the 50-foot display. Then, last week, timed to Art Basel, Cymbiotika joined Gunna’s (6 million Instagram followers) Wunna Run Club, happening in tandem with his tour. An investor in Cymbiotika, Gunna regularly posts about his own wellness journey on social media. The tour will make stops in the Bay Area during Super Bowl weekend, in Chicago timed to St. Patrick’s Day and in Las Vegas during March Madness; the art installation will follow the tour as it moves around.
Cymbiotika, like so many other brands, is leaning into its community. It has 465,000 Instagram followers and 108,000 TikTok followers. “My team is redefining wellness, mind, body, soul and world social impact,” Najjar said. “But part of that is community building, … and run clubs have become the new dating scene. They’ve become [spaces for social gathering]; they’ve replaced the bars.”
$75 tickets to the Run Club events support Gunna’s Great Giveaway, a nonprofit organization that provides tangible resources to families and the Atlanta, Georgia, community. Attendees also receive swag, including Cymbiotika smoothies and products, and Under Armour race shirts.
“The Cymbiotika Run Club Wellness Tour continues to sell out,” Najjar said. “Our most recent Miami run capped at 1,000 participants, and we’re expecting nearly double that in Los Angeles.”
What’s been “remarkable,” she said, is the omnichannel ripple effect: “In the 24 hours surrounding the Miami event, we saw over 200 million impressions across media, social shares and UGC content.”
Working with a rapper to promote its Target launch was, in part, a strategy to bring in a new audience, Najjar said. “We have that other audience on lock,” he said, referring to the “Goop girl” or “Erewhon girl.” Currently, the brand’s customer base is 80% women. In the next phase of growth, Najjar said, the brand will focus on different wellness profiles. “Before, we very much focused on the female, high-income. … Now we’re going to be bringing in a lot more diversity — in age, [for example].” This younger customer may take a vitamin C packet each morning for glowing skin, he said, noting that the brand has long been beauty-adjacent.
“Gunna has opened the brand to an entirely new audience,” Najjar said. “Since partnering with him, our social following has grown nearly 10%, and about 60% of those new followers are male. We’re also seeing a 40% increase in global engagement, especially in markets where we previously had low penetration, and a meaningful lift in Gen-Z interaction.”
“When we kicked off Target, we had this idea of [launching] not just products, but also an entire wellness ecosystem, [including] content and experiences,” Najjar said. He added that, last week, Target recognized Cymbiotika as its No. 1 wellness partner of 2025, awarding the brand with a Partnership Award for the Wellness Tour and its launch activations.
Week in review
Collab of the week: Cherry x Salt & Stone
On the heels of its recent collab with Aritzia, the “it” girl deodorant brand Salt & Stone has launched a collection in partnership with the fashion label Cherry LA. The collection includes a body wash, a deodorant and a candle in an exclusive leather and desert grass scent. The scent was inspired by the “spirit of the American West, with rich notes of leather, smoke and fresh tobacco blossom,” said Nima Jalali, Salt & Stone founder and CEO.
“Our goal with collaborations, first and foremost, is for them to be fun,” she said. “We collaborate with brands we love, where we feel like there is a unique story to be told. With Cherry, their strong brand DNA and iconic red [brand color] gave us a great canvas for the brands to come together and create something special.” The collab is available on both brands’ websites and at Cherry LA’s New York City pop-up at 138 Wooster St. Prices range from $20-$49.
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