Rhode Commits $5 Million to Women’s Health Research as Sales Top $500 Million
Updated
Updated · WWD · Oct 30
Rhode Commits $5 Million to Women’s Health Research as Sales Top $500 Million
3 articles · Updated · WWD · Oct 30
Summary
$5 million over three years will fund Rhode’s largest philanthropic push yet, backing women’s health research through a partnership with the Foundation for Women’s Health.
$1 million of the commitment will seed an Evergreen Fund that invests in women’s health diagnostics and therapeutics, while the broader program targets underfunded areas including pregnancy, postpartum health and autoimmune conditions.
Hailey Bieber said the initiative was driven by personal experience, citing PMDD after childbirth and the lack of research and conversation around conditions affecting women close to her, including endometriosis and PCOS.
U.S. research institutions have already submitted proposals, with grantees due in 2027, giving the foundation both fresh capital and wider visibility through Rhode’s audience.
The pledge extends Rhode’s broader giving under E.l.f. Beauty, which bought the brand in 2025 in a deal worth up to $1 billion; E.l.f. said in May that Rhode had surpassed $500 million in annualized global retail sales.
With venture funding for women’s health plummeting, can Hailey Bieber’s $5 million pledge actually disrupt the medical gap or is it just brand marketing?
Why are beauty brands stepping in to fund critical endometriosis research while traditional venture capital pulls billions out of the health sector?