5. Peppy

Founders: Dr. Mridula Pore, Evan Harris, and Max Landry
Year founded: 2018
Website: peppy.health

For decades, employers have offered healthcare benefits for the ‘safer’ areas of staff wellbeing. But, beyond dental treatment and the occasional optician’s appointment, UK employers have felt less sure of how to help employees with more sensitive health journeys.

Back in 2018, when Peppy Health was founded, these subjects were even deeper in the shadows. However, thanks largely to Peppy’s tireless campaigning, the digital healthcare platform has sparked a revolution, serving to destigmatise the natural life stages that were previously taboo topics.

Beginning with pregnancy and new parenthood, the company has become steadily louder in how it stands up for employee health needs. Starting tough conversations about terms like menstrual cycles and ovulation, Peppy has taken words that were previously whispered about and brought them into the mainstream.

Peppy is working to destigmatise the natural life stages that were previously taboo topics.

According to Peppy, the last few years have been a turning point. All those hours spent in predominantly male boardrooms have paid off, as progressive early-adopters inspire others to follow suit to get others more familiar with bodily changes.

Now, whether a staff member is trying to start a family, becoming a parent, or going through menopause, employers connect them to Peppy, where they’ll receive trusted educational content delivered by real, human experts over chat, live events, and one-to-one consultations.

Peppy has seen 10x growth since its Series A investment in July 2021 and is now trusted by over 250 enterprise businesses, including investment banks, top-tier law firms, pharmaceutical companies, and major global media groups.

Whether a staff member is trying to start a family, becoming a parent, or going through menopause, employers connect them to Peppy

Featuring in the Startups 100 for the second time in a row, Peppy’s return comes fresh off the back of securing £37.1m in Series B investment early last year. The founders say they will use it to fund their US expansion – but it hasn’t lost sight of its company mission.

As one of only a handful of UK venture capital-backed startups to become B Corp certified, Peppy is also setting new standards for what the modern workplace should look like for employers: inclusive, caring, and employee-focused.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen employers wake up to the vital importance of personalised care,” says the team. “They know that it’s a non-negotiable factor in attracting, engaging, and retaining the best colleagues – particularly women.”

Like its brand name suggests, Peppy has previously been the cheerleader for more diverse and equitable employee benefits. Now, it’s set to become the star player as it strives to establish itself as the world’s largest, most trusted healthcare company.