Overview
Season Health combined virtual dietitian care with food choices, delivery, and benefit support. It worked with health plans and providers to help people manage diet-related conditions. OpenLoop Health acquired Season in April 2026, adding its dietitian network and nutrition services to OpenLoop's virtual-care infrastructure. [1][2]
The acquisition marked a change of owner, not a shutdown. Public sources reviewed do not disclose the price or establish a causal reason Season sold. [2]
Founding Story
Josh Hix previously co-founded and led Plated, a meal-kit business acquired by Albertsons in 2017. He told Fast Company that a health-plan representative contacted Plated in 2015 after noticing some members with diabetes using the service. Hix recalled that the organizations discussed working together, but integrating a consumer food business with a health plan was complex. The experience helped shape his later interest in nutrition and healthcare. The account is his recollection, not a controlled study of Plated's clinical effects. [3]
Hix joined with Mustafa Shabib, who had been founding chief technology officer at digital mental-health company Quartet Health. Season launched publicly in February 2022 with healthcare partnerships and an initial focus on diabetes and kidney disease. [1][4]
Timeline
- February 2022: Season emerged publicly with partnerships involving Geisinger, CommonSpirit Health, and Cricket Health. [1][5]
- April 2022: Andreessen Horowitz led a $34 million Series A. [1][6]
- November 2023: Season acquired clinical assets of dietitian network Wellory. [7]
- December 2023: The company reported $7 million in new investment, including from Inception Health and Ziegler Link-age Fund. [7]
- April 2026: OpenLoop acquired Season. [2]
What They Built
Season linked three elements that often sit apart: a virtual dietitian clinic, a marketplace of food options, and support for available food benefits. A member could discuss needs and preferences with a registered dietitian, receive tailored recipes or meal options, and arrange delivery through participating vendors. The program aimed to account for practical factors such as budget and household preferences. [1][8]
In a National Academies workshop, Hix described a benefits bank that could work with food credits and programs such as SNAP and WIC. He said Season did not monetize food options and tied its payments to health outcomes. That is the founder's description of the model at the time, not a full disclosure of every contract. [8]
At launch, the Geisinger partnership was intended to extend its existing Fresh Food Farmacy program through Season's technology and virtual dietitians. Cricket Health planned a kidney-disease program, while CommonSpirit planned a multi-site study focused on diabetes. These announcements describe planned partnerships; the sources do not establish results for every program. [5]
Market Position
Target Customers
Season sold through health plans and providers, while patients used its nutrition care and food services. Coverage and available benefits depended on the customer's arrangements. [1][8]
Market Size
The opportunity included nutrition support for chronic conditions, but the sources do not establish Season's addressable market or revenue. Eligibility, reimbursement, and access to food differ by plan and location. [1][8]
Competition
Season entered a field with health-system food programs and other nutrition platforms, including Project Well. Its combination of dietitian services, food choice, delivery, and benefits support sought to address several steps in the same workflow. A broader offering also required coordination across clinicians, vendors, and payers. [1]
Business Model
Season worked with insurers and health systems to deliver nutrition benefits and care. Hix described an outcomes-oriented model and said the company did not monetize food options. Contract-specific rates, revenue, and profitability are not public in the sources reviewed. In December 2023, he told Axios the company was profitable on a unit-economic basis; that statement does not establish company-wide profitability. [7][8]
Traction
The 2022 Series A supplied $34 million for expansion. In 2023 Season purchased Wellory's clinical assets and reported a further $7 million investment. An investor described a health-plan study of more than 200 members with type 2 diabetes; the reported improvement was not presented with enough study design detail in the article to establish a causal treatment effect. [1][7]
Outcome and evolution
A nutrition network joins virtual care
OpenLoop confirmed it acquired Season in April 2026. It said the deal added registered dietitians and a food-as-medicine solution to its infrastructure, extending chronic-care capabilities. This is the buyer's stated rationale. The amount and precise closing day were not disclosed in the source. [2]
The service continues under a new owner
OpenLoop later described using Season's dietitian capacity within its virtual-care platform. That continuity matters: the deal changed ownership while the nutrition capability remained part of a broader service. Public sources do not establish investor returns or how much of Season's original product continued unchanged. [2][9]
Key Lessons
- Connect advice to execution. Season paired dietitians with food selection, benefits, and delivery, addressing steps that could otherwise be left to patients. [1][8]
- Keep evidence and claims separate. A reported improvement in a participating group does not, by itself, prove the program caused the change. [7]
- Check what survives a sale. OpenLoop described continuing dietitian services after acquiring Season; the price and full integration details remain undisclosed. [2][9]
Sources
- Fierce Healthcare on Season's Series A and launch
- OpenLoop confirms April 2026 acquisition
- Fast Company interview with Josh Hix
- Series Health founder account
- HIT Consultant on launch partnerships
- Andreessen Horowitz investment announcement
- Axios report republished by Season, December 2023
- National Academies workshop account of Season Health
- OpenLoop on dietitian services