GLORIAH raises £600k seed from Gabriel Investment Syndicate and Investing Women Angels
This article covers GLORIAH, a healthtech startup, which has closed a seed funding round of £600k led by Gabriel Investment Syndicate with participation from Highland Venture Capital, Investing Women Angels, Apollo Informal Investments and Scottish Enterprise. The funding will support UK retail expansion, preparations for US market entry, regulatory work and stepped-up marketing, and targets products for vaginal dryness and menopause-related needs.
Edinburgh-based GLORIAH, a healthtech startup, has closed a seed funding round of £600,000 led by Gabriel Investment Syndicate, with participation from Highland Venture Capital, Investing Women Angels, Apollo Informal Investments and Scottish Enterprise. The oversubscribed raise — which exceeded an initial £500,000 target — will fund UK retail expansion, preparations for entry into the US market, regulatory work and stepped-up marketing.
Why it matters
Female intimate health remains underfunded and underbranded compared with other consumer health categories. GLORIAH’s raise is notable not only for the number of angel groups involved but for the wider signal it sends: investors are increasingly treating products for vaginal dryness and menopause-related needs as mainstream consumer health opportunities. For founders and funders tracking female-founded businesses, the deal highlights how relatively modest early capital can unlock retail listings and international launches.
Inside the product
GLORIAH markets a small range of design-led, naturally formulated products aimed at vaginal dryness, including Soul Gel (a lubricant) and Liberation Oil (for vaginal dryness). The brand positions itself as an alternative to more clinical, legacy products and is preparing for a series of retail rollouts: a Boots.com launch scheduled for October, a confirmed QVC UK slot, and plans for Amazon US later in the year. The company points to consumer traction — roughly 7.5 million social media views in a single month and a community of more than 16,000 women — as evidence that demand exists for a more modern, branded approach to intimate health.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Gabriel Investment Syndicate and joined by Highland Venture Capital (HVC), Investing Women Angels (IWA), Apollo Informal Investments and Scottish Enterprise. The seed was oversubscribed, closing at £600,000 against a £500,000 target, and follows prior non-dilutive and accelerator support totalling more than £110,000 from Scottish EDGE, Young EDGE, Zero Waste Scotland, NatWest Pitch and the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator.
Gabriel Investment Syndicate is an active Scottish angel group; Highland Venture Capital works with Scottish Enterprise to co-invest in early opportunities across the Highlands and Islands; Investing Women Angels runs programmes to increase female participation in angel investing; Apollo is an Edinburgh-based angel syndicate; Scottish Enterprise is the Scottish Government’s economic development agency.
In the announcement, Alex Lusty, deal lead at Gabriel Investment Syndicate, said:
Gabriel members were hugely impressed and engaged by Jessica and Isla, and the business they have built to date at GLORIAH. This first investment round is oversubscribed, a testament to their passion for improving women’s health and the company’s growth potential. The success of GLORIAH’s fundraise reflects a significant market shift, with experienced early-stage investors from diverse backgrounds viewing vaginal dryness solutions as a mainstream investment opportunity. Gabriel looks forward to working with both founders and the other investors to support GLORIAH’s continued progress.
In the announcement, Scott Carnegie, Chief Executive at Highland Venture Capital, said:
HVC members were delighted to support Jessica and Isla in this exciting venture in an area that looks underinvested and ripe for disruption. Their drive and enthusiasm stood out, and convinced us to invest alongside a great team of syndicate investors.
In the announcement, Lucy Henderson, Chair at Investing Women Angels, said:
GLORIAH began because two women couldn’t find a product they would feel comfortable giving to someone they loved, so they developed it themselves. We’ve known Jessica and Isla for a long time, and what has always stood out is how clearly they identified the gap in the market. Women were already buying products in this category, but no one had yet built a brand they truly wanted to choose. At Investing Women Angels, we’re proud to support GLORIAH as it enters this next chapter and to be part of its future journey.
In the announcement, Derek Shaw, Director of Company Funding and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said:
Our investment into Gloriah highlights our dedication to supporting the growth of ambitious businesses in Scotland. By helping these companies scale, we aim to create high-quality, high-value jobs and empower them to compete and lead in global markets. Scotland has distinct global strengths in the human health sector and fostering the development of companies such as Gloriah is key to sustaining their success and driving future growth.
In the announcement, Jessica Mullen, Board Member and Angel Investor at Apollo Informal Investments, said:
When the GLORIAH team pitched this opportunity to our members, it was one of the best we’ve ever seen. They have a strong founding team, a clear roadmap and a compelling brand, solving a real problem for an underserved and growing market. Personally, I’m delighted that we’re investing in another female-founded business with significant global potential and an ambition to make a positive difference in the world. Apollo Informal Investments is excited to be part of the journey with the Gloriah team.
In the announcement, Elizabeth Pirrie, CEO and Owner at AccelerateHER, said:
We know women are often encouraged to prove more, ask for less and wait longer before seeking investment, which can leave promising businesses undercapitalised at exactly the point when relatively small amounts of funding can make a significant difference. I’ve had the privilege of watching Jessica and Isla’s journey through both Women to Women and Ready to Raise. Seeing four separate Scottish angel groups now back GLORIAH is particularly special. This is exactly what we want our ecosystem to do: help ambitious female founders access the right support, connections and capital to accelerate their growth.
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Founder perspective
GLORIAH was co-founded in 2021 by Jessica-Rose Watson and Isla Wynne Thomas after a friend experienced surgical menopause at 25 and the founders identified a lack of modern, non-clinical products for vaginal dryness. Watson brings commercial experience from Sky, including product launches and subscriptions across the UK and Europe; Wynne Thomas is a former nurse who worked in NHS menopause clinics.
In the announcement, Jessica Watson, Co-Founder at GLORIAH, said:
We are thrilled to be supported by such a strong group of investors with varied and complementary experience. Women’s health rarely gets the investment it needs or deserves; it was refreshing to see the investors understand the gap and opportunity. Oversubscribing on our first round across just four weeks of pitching is a testament to the plan we have in place. We are excited to get back to business and scale GLORIAH!
In the announcement, Isla Wynne Thomas, Co-Founder at GLORIAH, said:
AccelerateHER and Investing Women Angels’ Women to Women and Ready to Raise programmes helped us connect with women across the ecosystem who have opened doors, creating opportunities and giving us access to advice and support.
The founders point to early programme support and accelerators — including work with AccelerateHER and Investing Women Angels — as important in building their investor pitch and networks.
The bigger picture
The funding round sits at the intersection of two trends: growing consumer appetite for destigmatised female health products and a small but rising flow of capital into women’s health brands. For UK healthtech founders, the GLORIAH story underlines how targeted early funding, combined with accelerator support and retail partnerships, can translate into rapid consumer reach and cross-border opportunities.
This raise also illustrates the continued role of syndicate and regional investors in Scotland’s startup ecosystem, where public and private groups collaborate to move companies from local traction to international distribution.
The deal adds to evidence that UK investors are broadening the kinds of consumer health opportunities they will back, and that relatively modest seed rounds can meaningfully accelerate retail and regulatory progress for founders looking to expand into the US and beyond.
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