Israeli startup Annabella, who develops a breast milk pump that mimics baby suction, has completed $1.4 million in fundraising.
The first investment Annabella received was 1 million NIS (about $300K) on the TV show “The Sharks” which shows entrepreneurs presenting their product to a panel of investors the “sharks” who decide whether to invest in their company.
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at office@jewishbusinessnews.com.
Thank you.
The funding round was led by the “Sharks” Yasmin Lukach and Oren Dobronsky, along with Angel Zohar Gilon. Their total investment was NIS 1.3 million (about $400K). The current funding brings the company’s total investments amount to $2.5 million.
Senia Waldberg, co-founder of Annabella explained: “Milk pumps today are built on a principle of vacuum which is based on a patent from 1854. The patent was originally intended for cows and does not fit the woman’s body. Since that time, there has been no change in the principle of work except for the design, the weight, the option for a mobile pump, and more. But all of this did not solve the pumps’ inefficiency.”
According to Waldberg, the benefits of their pump compared to other products on the market are the pleasant feeling during use, the fact that it does not hurt, and the efficiency in the amount of milk pumped. “The results of our experiments are consistent and consistent with the results of our professional research and literature series over the years. We see an average increase of more than 50% in milk compared to competing pumps. Our ambition is to turn the whole breastfeeding experience into something positive, to help mothers today not to fear a drop in milk when returning to work, and to make the pump a friendly tool and not necessarily tolerable but desirable,” she adds.
Annabella founded by Masha Waldberg who come up with the idea, her husband Senia Waldberg and Ron Edelman. CEO Uri Yaffe joined the founders’ team. Currently, 5 employees including entrepreneurs working in the company. The product is still in the development stage and is scheduled to get to the market in 2021.
