It was the Sustainable Development Goal number three – Heath and Well-being – that stole the limelight at the NFL Players Pitch Day this February, when the dietary nutrition platform Culina Health secured the win and with it a prize package worth more than $50,000.
Earlier this year, Products of Change member and US sports licensing giant the NFL Players Association held its annual Pitch Day event to whittle down more than 200 applicants and select one deserving early-stage company as its 2023 winner.
And it was this year that, in front of the event’s largest audience to date, that NFLPA Pitch Day grand prize went to Culina Health – an emerging nutrition and wellbeing platform that aims to make clinical dietary support available and accessible to millions of Americans.
Culina Health’s platform is powered exclusively by registered dietitians and works to support its members with personalised, culturally competent, and accessible care. It’s mission statement? To ‘revolutionise clinical nutrition access and improve health outcomes for users across the United States,’ while ‘providing essential support to individuals seeking a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.’
Founded by Vanessa Rissetto, Tamar Samuels, and Steven Kuyan, the Culina Health platform has found itself in support of the Sustainable Development Goal 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing – as it acts to “enhance access to evidence-based nutrition advice” while providing ‘culturally competent care.’
“Our mission aligns with the goal of fostering good health and well-being, which ultimately supports the development of sustainable communities and healthcare systems,” Vanessa told Products of Change.
“Our inspiration comes from recognising the vast gap between individuals dealing with chronic conditions and their access to qualified nutrition experts. We know that nutrition has been proven to play a crucial role in overall health, and we saw the need to create a platform to democratise access to insurance-reimbursed clinical nutrition and elevate the dietitian profession.
“For too long, nutrition has existed in the wellness space. We are shifting it back to a profession rooted in science and delivered by qualified individuals, registered dietitians.”
For winning the NFLPA Pitch Day 2023, Culina Health now gains access to resources provided by the initiative’s official partner, PitchBook Data Inc, as well as $25,000 in player marketing services and player activations from the NFLPA, and $25,000 in services from group licensing, athlete marketing and media company, OneTeam Partners, consultation from Products of Change, and player marketing strategic consultation from students from the Arizona State University Master of Sports Law & Business sports entrepreneurship class.
“Securing support from the NFL Players Pitch Day is an incredible milestone for Culina Health,” continues Vanessa. “This backing offers invaluable resources, networking opportunities, and increased visibility for our platform.
“The NFL Players Pitch Day platform helps elevate brands and innovators like ours by connecting us with influential partners and showcasing our innovative solutions to a wider audience. It also helps validate the important work we are doing.”
Culina Health was declared the Pitch Day winner out of a shortlist of six finalists, each of which are led by underrepresented entrepreneurs and included Champions Round, For Days, LootMogul, Noggin Boss, and Puzzle Huddle. The six were selected from more than 200 applicants – a record for the NFLPA Pitch Day.
The judge’s panel of entrepreneurial athletes and business leaders included NFL linebacker and investor Brandon Copeland, retired NFL lineman and business owner Ricky Jean Francois, Horizon Strategies ceo Jessica Pacheco, and PitchBook Data Inc cmo Jason Marshall.
“The cohort of companies selected to pitch perfectly captured the diversity of NFL Players Inc partners, and the wide spectrum of industries that benefit from working with NFL players. In addition to Culina Health, we look forward to exploring partnership opportunities will all participating companies,” said Steve Scebelo, president, NFL Players Inc.
As for Culina Health, the target remains focused on delivering better nutrition for all.
“Our focus on sustainable growth and impact involves scaling our platform, expanding our reach to more individuals in need of access to a dietitian, developing partnerships with healthcare providers and insurers, and continuously refining our care delivery and technology to better support our patients,” said Vanessa.
“We are working towards a future in which every person sees a dietitian at least once a year for maintenance or regularly to support their treatment, reversal, or prevention of chronic conditions.”
