LemonBox sells imported American health supplements to Chinese millennials through online channels, using a WeChat-based lite app that personalizes recommendations after a health questionnaire. The company packages supplements into customized daily packs rather than selling by the bottle. It emphasizes affordability by leveraging founder Derek Weng’s relationships with U.S. manufacturers to cut middlemen costs and undercut pharmacy and multi-level marketing markups. Founded in 2018 and initially YC-backed at seed stage, LemonBox declined to disclose customer size but says its user conversion rate is higher than most e-commerce sites. With new funding it plans to open a second fulfillment center in the Shenzhen free-trade zone after its Silicon Valley-based one, secure health-related certificates, and add Japan to its sourcing regions. The startup aims to use affordability and personalization to gather health insights and broaden its product range. LemonBox imports U.S. vitamins and health products and sells them to consumers in China primarily through a WeChat app and a website. The company uses a personalized packaging approach, likened to Amazon’s PillPack, to tailor vitamin selections for users. LemonBox graduated from Y Combinator’s most recent U.S. program and has a team of 20 (12 full‑time, 8 interns). It raised $2 million from a group of investors to accelerate growth, and business is growing at about 35% per week. The new funding will be used for increased marketing, improvements to the WeChat app and upgrades to the supply chain. LemonBox is contemplating a standalone app and hopes to partner with health and fitness services to gather user data and ultimately use richer data and AI to personalize offerings.

Total raised

$5M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Dec 2020