Health brand GLORIAH hits £600,000 funding target to support UK and US growth
Edinburgh-based GLORIAH, a health brand tackling vaginal dryness, has raised £600,000 in a funding round led by Gabriel Investment Syndicate alongside Highland Venture Capital, Investing Women Angels, Apollo Informal Investments and Scottish Enterprise, marking a significant milestone in the company’s growth.
The funding will support GLORIAH’s next phase of expansion, including growing its UK retail footprint, preparing for entry into the US market, progressing regulatory work and accelerating marketing.
Founded in 2021 by Jessica-Rose Watson and Isla Wynne Thomas, GLORIAH offers a range of women’s intimate-health products. Soul Gel, a naturally formulated vaginal lubricant and Liberation Oil, designed for vaginal dryness, focus on supporting women through hormonal changes and intimate-health concerns by offering an alternative to what they describe as “clinical, often outdated products that have dominated the market for women navigating menopause.”
Since its launch, the team behind GLORIAH has built strong retail momentum and is set for further expansion with a launch on Boots.com planned for this month, and a QVC UK slot confirmed. Alongside its growing UK presence, it has attracted interest from US distributors and is preparing to launch on Amazon US later this year.
The inspiration for GLORIAH came after a close friend of both Jessica and Isla experienced surgical menopause aged just 25.
Friends for more than 20 years, Isla, a former nurse who worked in NHS menopause clinics and Jessica, who built her career with Sky, managing multi-million-pound product launches, subscriptions and commercial strategy across the UK and Europe, set to work creating a menopause-care range.
Following the launch in 2021, the team secured funding from a range of sources, including Scottish EDGE, Young EDGE, Zero Waste Scotland and Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, totalling more than £110,000. In 2026, AcclerateHER supported the founders in building new networks, developing their business plan and creating a successful investment pitch.
Jessica-Rose said: “GLORIAH exists because too many women are still expected to tolerate discomfort, embarrassment or dismissal when it comes to their intimate health. We want to change that by giving women products, education and language that help them feel seen, informed and able to advocate for themselves.”
Isla highlighted the value of support for the company in building its fundraising capability.
“AccelerateHER and Investing Women Angels’ Women to Women and Ready to Raise programmes helped us connect with other women, who have opened doors, creating opportunities and giving us access to advice and support.”
Elizabeth Pirrie, chief executive and owner of AccelerateHER, which supports women to build and scale strong businesses, said early-stage capital can be some of the hardest money for female founders to raise, but also some of the most important:
“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. 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.”
Jessica-Rose added: “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.”
Pictured left-right: GLORIAH founders, Isla Wynne Thomas and Jessica-Rose Watson
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