How Ritual's Katerina Schneider Is Fixing a 'Broken' Supplement Industry with Traceability & Science
Learn how Katerina Schneider overcame VC skepticism to build Ritual by setting new standards for transparency & efficacy in the supplement industry.
Katerina Schneider, CEO & founder of Ritual, shares her story behind the supplement company, driven by a mission to create human impact beyond financial returns. Inspired by her immigrant parents and her father's entrepreneurial spirit, Schneider's own pregnancy sparked her quest to understand the opaque supplement industry. Frustrated by the lack of traceable ingredients and scientific backing in prenatal vitamins, she decided to set a new standard.
Launching Ritual was tough – investors were uninterested in women's health and wellness categories and doubted she could build a company and a family at the same time. She proved them wrong and fundraised and led Ritual to become a big player, now generating hundreds of millions in revenue with top products in the US market.
Ritual differentiates itself with a traceable supply chain, so consumers can see ingredient origins and suppliers online. The company will do human clinical studies on all finished products by 2030 and is Clean Label Project certified, testing for over 200 contaminants.
Schneider says Ritual is committed to advancing underserved women's health through research funding. She also shares on branding, how she rejected a sterile initial design and went with the now iconic yellow branding that evokes an emotional connection. On work-life dynamics, Schneider says there's no such thing as 'balance' and instead recommends embracing the integration of business and family life, both are essential and complementary.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Serving those who served': VA clinic presents ‘VetFest'
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – An event for and all about local veterans is making its debut this coming weekend. Man pleads guilty in hit-and-run that injured teen in front of East High School VetFest 2025 is being held at the Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic on Belmont Avenue on Saturday. The event is an opportunity to introduce veterans to the clinic and its services. 'It's an opportunity for us to celebrate local veterans. What we want to do is we want to have veterans that currently are enrolled here at the facility, or veterans that have not yet enrolled in the facility, come out and see what we're about,' said Carl Schneider, who serves as the facility director at the Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic. 'Check out the services that we might have available that they're not aware of, or get them veterans that don't know about VA health care information, so they can get enrolled.' At VetFest 2025, veterans can learn about the many services offered by the clinic and ask as many questions as they want about what the clinic offers. Veterans who are not enrolled can even enroll with the clinic that day at the event. 'It starts with primary care. That's kind of the entry point to receiving care at the VA clinic. Once they get enrolled, there's so many we have so many services that veterans aren't aware of,' said Schneider. 'We have mental health, we have podiatry, optometry, we have a lab here, we have physical therapy. We're adding additional services with specialty care, so we continue to expand the services to accommodate veterans here locally.' VetFest 2025 is not just for veterans, but also for their families and kids. 'We want to make this a very fun event for families. We want to provide information. We want to connect veterans with local resources that they might not be aware of,' said Schneider. 'We're hoping the weather cooperates and we can have it outside. We're going to have it at the entrance of the clinic, and there's going to be tables. We're going to have activities for kids. We're going to have a live band here. We're going to serve food. It's going to be a great time. It's going to be a fun time for family, for kids, for everybody.' The Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic opened in 2021 and continues to expand its offerings and services for veterans. 'We're looking to add an infusion clinic within the next year. That's going to be a big service. A lot of times, veterans are traveling to receive some of these services, and so this is something they felt was necessary to support this area,' said Schneider. 'We've recently added dermatology, so we're expanding our specialty care here so veterans do not have to travel far to receive the care that they deserve and need.' The event will also feature several community partners, such as the Veterans Service Commission and Youngstown State University. The clinic has also partnered with a local food bank for a food giveaway. 'This is just an opportunity for us to give back, to show our appreciation to the veterans, to the heroes that have made sacrifices. This connects them to the community, and that's what we're about,' said Schneider. 'Engaging the veterans, showing that Youngstown absolutely cares about their veterans. Serving those who served is what it's about, and we're very proud of this clinic and what we do and what we offer here.' VetFest 2025 is on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Carl Nunziato Youngstown VA Clinic, located at 1815 Belmont Avenue in Youngstown. For more information, call 330-740-9200 and visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Gender-affirming care funding at risk in new bill
NEW YORK (PIX11) — The future of gender affirming care for some transgender people is up in the air as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., consider President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' An amendment added to the bill would prohibit federal Medicaid funding from being used for gender-affirming care for not only minors, but also transgender adults. More Local News David Kilmnick, with the LGBT Network, tells PIX11 News the bill also proposes removing gender transition coverage for people who use health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Micah Schneider, a trans person who works for the LGBT Network, says there is so much fearmongering and misunderstanding about gender affirming care. Schneider said, 'Gender affirming care is literally anything that makes you feel good in your skin. Hair implants for cis gender men; gender affirming care. Breast augmentation; gender affirming care.' Schneider tells PIX11 News, 'We're just every day normal folk trying to live our lives.' Dr. Jennifer Osipoff, a pediatric endocrinologist at Stony Brook Medicine, said gender affirming care includes everything from counseling to hormone therapy to puberty blockers. Osipoff said, 'I am hopeful that insurance will continue to pay for these therapies, that is one of the things that I do discuss now, that I never did before with my patients, because they want to know the worst case.' She adds: 'I don't fault families at all for trying to think of a solution, because they're literally trying to keep their child healthy, happy, and alive.' Gender affirming surgery is only performed on individuals 19 and above at Stony Brook Medicine. The FBI issued an official statement via 'X' on June 2nd stating, 'Help the FBI protect children. As the Attorney General has made clear, we will protect our children and hold accountable those who mutilate them under the guise of gender-affirming care. Report tips of any hospitals, clinics, or practitioners performing these surgical procedures on children at 1-800-CALL-FBI or click here. The CDC reports that it is rare that gender affirming surgery is ever performed on minors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Hanford worker sentenced for COVID loan fraud for solar-powered wheelchair idea
A Kennewick man has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud to obtain money through federal COVID-19 relief programs. David 'Kurt' Schneider, who wanted money to develop a solar-powered wheelchair, also is required to repay nearly $122,000 to the federal government. He was one of three people in the federal court case accused of fraudulently obtaining at least $292,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, funding in 2020 and 2021. Kelly Jo Driver, 43, of South Carolina, pleaded guilty to fraudulent claims and was sentenced to five years of probation but no incarceration after preparing falsified documents for Schneider and the owner of a Tri-Cities gun shop to submit with their loan applications. She also is jointly responsible with Schneider for repaying the money. Leif Gerard Larsen, the owner of Larsen Firearms in Pasco, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced July 30 in the Yakima County Courthouse. 'By stealing nearly $300,000 intended for legitimate businesses, these defendants diverted critical resources at a time when many businesses were fighting to survive,' said Rich Barker, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. The CARES Act was intended to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The three defendants also applied for additional payments or loans of about $563,600, but those applications were rejected, according to court documents. They included Paycheck Protection Program loans to small businesses primarily to cover worker paychecks, which were eligible to be forgiven, with no money paid back. The program also offered low-interest Economic Injury Disaster loans Schneider applied for CARES Act loans for his businesses Solar Mobility, RealNZ Water and Tempest Tactical Solutions using documents created by Driver that falsified payroll information and federal tax forms to claim he had up to 10 employees. When Schneider was asked for bank records to confirm his payroll, he said that employees of Solar Mobility, his solar wheelchair company, had asked to be paid in cash during the pandemic. Schneider and Driver also falsely claimed that RealNZ Water, a company to sell water bottled in New Zealand, had 10 employees. The Washington Department of Revenue had no records of the company existing or reporting revenue and no wages were reported to the Washington state Employment Security Department, according to a court document. Court documents also said that his business Tempest Tactical Solutions had no business operations and had only been registered with the Washington State Secretary of State to apply for CARES Act money. The only revenue Schneider reported to the Department of Revenue in 2019 and 2020 were from his wages at a Hanford nuclear site job at the vitrification plant, according to a court document. Schneider was obsessed with the development of a solar wheelchair to be used by veterans, his attorney, Deric Orr, said in a court document. He sought a contract for his invention with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, thinking it would make his solar wheelchair a major success and help veterans. But he came to believe the agency was sabotaging his efforts, according to court documents. Schneider saw the loan money he falsely obtained as a way to keep his business afloat and to fight back against the perceived sabotage, his attorney said. Driver provided false documents to both Schneider and Larsen for loan applications and then received 10% of the proceeds, according to court documents. She urged the other defendants in the case to seek higher loan amounts, which also would net her more money, according to court documents filed by Eastern District of Washington U.S. Attorney's Office. Driver's attorney, Jennifer Barnes, argued that she had no criminal record and had a noncancerous tumor that could soon require treatment. Barnes asked for no incarceration. Schneider told Larsen he also could obtain loans under the CARES Act, which could be forgiven, using false payroll documents created by Driver, according to court documents. He and Driver submitted applications falsely claiming he had 10 employees at Larsen Firearms and Larsen Gunsmithing & Firearms, according to court documents. He withdrew one application after being interviewed by federal agents. He received a loan of nearly $150,000 for the other application, according to court documents. Larsen is scheduled to be sentenced July 30 in the Yakima U.S. Courthouse. The case was investigated by the Eastern District of Washington COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Kelley and Frieda Zimmerman. U.S. Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima sentenced Schneider and Driver.
