$100M BRAND STORY

Hilma’s Walmart Playbook: 3× Retail in 12 Months

Hilma set out in 2019 to replace your chalky antacids and sugar-packed cough drops with herb-forward, clinically-proven formulas that actually look good on the bathroom shelf. Just three years later the trio of founders: Lily Galef, Nina Mullen and Hilary Quartner, sold a majority stake to French pharma group Biocodex (Nov 17 2022). That early exit put real muscle behind Hilma’s omni-channel push, culminating in a 2024 launch into 2,000 Walmart doors and five regional grocers—tripling retail revenue in a single year.

Are They Funded or Bootstrapped?

Hilma was classic “venture-love-child” from day one: pre-seeded by Forerunner Ventures, BoxGroup and Prehype and rumoured (PitchBook) to have raised a low-seven-figure round at launch. Acquisition proceeds swapped VC preference for corporate balance-sheet support, giving Hilma the best of both worlds - a light cap table plus heavy distribution. 

The Origin Story

The three founders were frustrated brand builders from Harry’s, Bain & Co. and Dia & Co. On a team off-site they compared medicine-cabinet horror stories chalk tablets with talc fillers, fluorescent syrups, zero transparency. They cold-called herbalists, recruited a Scientific Advisory Board and spent nine months in clinical trials before shipping the first Gas & Bloat Relief in January 2020 weeks before COVID-19 amplified gut-health Google searches 4X.

Core Customer Base

Hilma’s bullseye is the 25-40 y.o. Millennial woman who already pays a premium for clean beauty & home but still keeps Tums in the drawer. She’s label-literate (wants “third-party tested”) and shops Target or Instacart more than indie co-ops. Community polls show 70% report “occasional digestive discomfort,” making gut relief the gateway SKU.

How Did They Grow So Sustainably?

1. Digital first, science loud: clinical-trial PDFs above the fold convert at ~4% (vs cat-average 2%).

2. Subscription + bundles: Digestive Essentials bundle lifts AOV to $52 with 75% gross margin after COGS.

3. Retail second, but fast: 2023 wholesale revenue up 3X and door count targeting >10k in 2025. 

4. Post-acquisition synergies: Biocodex negotiated national pharmacy compliance and lowered raw-material MOQs by 18 %, saving an estimated 400 bp on COGS.

Key Milestones

Influencer Marketing Mix

• Micro-creators (10-100k): gut-health dietitians on TikTok/IG demo the Gas & Bloat Challenge—CPM $40 but 6% click-to-cart.

• Wellness podcasters (50-200k downloads): 60-sec host-read mid-rolls deliver lowest CAC ($18) because education is baked in.

• Retail collabs: exclusive end-cap at Target with QR code to a “Digestive 101” mini-course elevated velocity by 28%.

Their Marketing X-Factor

Hilma behaves like a media company: every product launch is paired with an educational asset—webinar, research brief, or the Digest, a content hub that ranks for 1,200 gut-health keywords. Google organic now drives 22 % of sessions, slashing paid-media dependency.

Takeaways for Wellness Operators

1. Clinical proof sells—but only if shouted clearly. Publish study summaries, not white-papers.

2. Bundle for margin: digestive “systems” justify >70 % GM even in mass retail.

3. Own the curriculum: educational content is compounding traffic—think media P&L inside COGS.

4. Podcast is the new email: host-read trust can undercut paid social CACs by 50 %. Kick-off with niche micro-pod partnerships before launching your own show.

5. Exit ≠ exit strategy: strategic acquirers can fund channel expansion while founders keep brand steering-wheel.