Supplement company Ritual named Serena Williams as its first women’s health advisor last week. Williams, who stepped away from professional tennis in 2022, will work closely with Ritual, testing and advising on new products, the company said.
Williams is now among several celebrities who have joined beauty and wellness brands as not mere spokespeople or ambassadors. Just last year, Pamela Anderson was named co-founder and co-owner of the skin-care brand Sonsie, while Selma Blair was named chief creative officer of Guide Beauty in 2023, Glossy.co reported.
“[Serena Williams] was our North Star of somebody that we wanted to partner with at Ritual,” said Ritual founder and CEO Katerina Schneider. “We wanted her to play a deeper role in the brand, which is why we’ve given her the title of our first women’s health advisor. We’re excited for her to use her platform to be more vocal about wellness, in general, and we’re also excited for her to have access to our products first and give us feedback.”
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Ritual, since its founding in 2015, has quickly grown in the wellness sector. In 2024, the company reported $250 million in gross revenue and announced a new clinical trial for its Prenatal Multivitamin in April.
Last week, the Hollywood-loved brand also entered 300 Ulta Beauty locations across the United States. Interestingly, Ulta is the exclusive retailer for Williams’ own makeup line, Wyn Beauty. As part of its commitment to the sports and wellness sectors, Ritual served as the official protein partner to Angel City FC, a National Women’s Soccer League team, from 2022 through 2024.
“We’re building an iconic brand, something that’s going to last forever. We’re not taking shortcuts. We’re not doing marketing for marketing’s sake,” said Schneider. “Partnering with someone that is actually an icon and the greatest at what they do levels this brand up in a way that’s faster than maybe we would get there on our own.”
As part of the recent announcement, Williams curated a collection of her favorite Ritual products that have supported her daily routine and helped her achieve her best as a mother and entrepreneur. The curation includes Essential for Women 18+, Synbiotic+, and HyaCera, among others.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist joins Ritual not too long after she became part of an initiative created by Reckitt to support up to 200 health and hygiene start-ups founded by women and under-represented entrepreneurs.
Known as Reckitt Catalyst, the initiative is a five-year, up to £10m ($13 million) commitment to provide these startups with funding, mentorship and expertise from Reckitt leaders and Williams. The goal is to improve access to health and hygiene for five million people by investing in visionary entrepreneurs and the health and hygiene companies they are building. As Reckitt’s first Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Williams will help in mentoring and supporting women leading these startups.
Williams is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players to grace the court. She combined her tennis career with investing in business. In 2014, she launched Serena Ventures — a venture capital fund — after having had more than ten years of experience in investing.
Through Serena Ventures, she has invested in multiple companies, and some have even reached Unicorn status.
