Fatty15 Catapults to Inc. 5000’s #1 Fastest-Growing Supplement Company in America: The Power Behind This Science-Backed Longevity Supplement

A once-in-a-century discovery made while helping older Navy dolphins has catapulted fatty15, a groundbreaking C15:0 supplement, as the leader in the longevity supplement space.  

Inc., the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future, announced that Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. (the company bringing fatty15 to the world) is the #1 fastest-growing supplement company and the 5th fastest-growing Consumer Product Company in America on the Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Among all private companies in America on the Inc. 5000 list, Seraphina ranked 117, which is among the top 2%.

“Making the Inc. 5000 is always a remarkable achievement, but earning a spot this year speaks volumes about a company’s tenacity and clarity of vision,” says Mike Hofman, editor-in-chief of Inc. “These businesses have thrived amid rising costs, shifting global dynamics, and constant change. They didn’t just weather the storm—they grew through it, and their stories are a powerful reminder that the entrepreneurial spirit is the engine of the U.S. economy.”

While this is indeed amazing business news, we are even more proud of what this prestigious accolade means to our mission to improve global health - and how science do-goodery really can meaningfully improve people’s lives within months. All by tapping into a core, evolutionary tool that enables longevity. 

Let’s dive in on how fatty15 started with an unexpected discovery in dolphins, since validated by 100+ peer-reviewed studies, and resulting in today’s pure, science-backed, award-winning C15:0 healthy aging & longevity supplement loved by 100,000+ customers.

This has been an amazing journey, folks. A special and sincere “Thank you!!!” to our growing passionate, smart, and caring community who has helped us make this meaningful milestone. The adventure, the impact continue. So glad you’re with us.

It All Started with An Unexpected Healthy Aging Discovery in Older Navy Dolphins

For those of you first learning about fatty15, your first question may be - Navy dolphins? Indeed, the U.S. Navy has cared for a population of about a hundred bottlenose dolphins for over 60 years. These dolphins live in San Diego Bay, go out into the ocean every day, and every day, they choose to come back. Because of the fabulous care they receive, Navy dolphins live a lot longer than dolphins in the wild. While wild dolphins typically live to about 20 years old, Navy dolphins routinely live into their 40s and 50s, with two dolphins turning 60 this year.

While serving as a veterinary epidemiologist for the Navy, Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson discovered that 1 in 3 older Navy dolphins were developing aging-associated conditions, including insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, elevated cholesterol, fatty liver disease, and anemia. Her team used an advanced technology called metabolomics to study hundreds of small molecules to see which ones in their archived serum and all-fish diet predicted the healthiest aging dolphins.

While they thought it would be omega-3s since all they eat are fish, they surprisingly discovered that C15:0 (aka pentadecanoic acid, an odd-chain saturated fatty acid) was the strongest predictor of the healthiest aging dolphins. The same outcomes have also been found in humans. 

Better yet, when faster-aging dolphins were provided a higher C15:0 diet, these dolphins experienced improved key health indices and slowed biomarkers of biological aging (aka hemoglobin and red blood cell distribution width, also called RDW). You can hear more about Dr. Steph’s discovery in her TEDX talk.

So, How Did Fatty15 Grow 3031% in Three Years to Become the 5th Fastest Growing Consumer Product Company in America? Simply, Science That Works.

Fast forward 10 years, 60+ patents, and 100+ peer-reviewed studies from that initial discovery from dolphins, and C15:0 is now the first essential fatty acid to emerge in over 90 years. C15:0 has also earned its place as the leading longevity nutrient that nature has always intended to support healthy aging at all stages. So, let’s talk about all things C15:0 science - which explains fatty15’s growing love and how 70% of fatty15 customers see or feel benefits within 16 weeks.

Let’s talk about evidence of C15:0 as an essential fatty acid

An essential fatty acid is a nutrient our bodies must have in order to maintain our baseline physiological health. Since our bodies don’t make enough of this nutrient on their own, we must routinely get adequate amounts from our diet. Here’s the evidence supporting C15:0 as the first essential fatty acid to emerge since linoleic acid (an omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3), over 90 years ago:

• Essential healthy aging function. C15:0 is a sturdy fatty acid that physically strengthens our cell membranes against age-driving lipid peroxidation. If we don’t have enough C15:0 in our cell membranes, our cells become fragile and are susceptible to oxidation. The result of low C15:0? A newly discovered form of cell death, called ferroptosis, that accelerates aging and impairs metabolic, cognitive, liver, red blood cell, immune and cardiovascular function. Today, we know that we need greater than 5 µg/ml (or 20 µM or 0.2% of total fatty acid) of C15:0 in our cell membranes to keep them strong (and us healthy).

• Required from our diet. Our C15:0 levels are directly driven by how much C15:0 is in our diet. Specifically, how much dairy fat is in our diet. That is because dairy fat, which contains 1% of C15:0 among all fatty acids, is our primary source of C15:0. While our bodies can make some amounts of C15:0, they can’t make enough to reliably reach and stay above that 5 µg/ml level. Studies support that we need, on average, 100 to 300 mg of C15:0 per day to maintain healthy C15:0 levels. 

• Evidence of a nutritional C15:0 deficiency - that’s fixable. The detailed pathophysiology of a nutritional C15:0 deficiency syndrome, called Cellular Fragility Syndrome, was published in The International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Here’s the lowdown on Cellular Fragility Syndrome, which may be present in as many as 1 in 3 people globally: First, low C15:0 concentrations in cell membranes result in fragile cells, including fragile red blood cells (RBCs). Then, these weak RBCs are engulfed by Kupffer cells in the liver, which become overloaded with iron. When this free iron combines with increased lipid peroxidation, this leads to ferroptosis and downstream negative impacts on liver, metabolic, cardiovascular, cognitive, and red blood cell health. Importantly, C15:0 supplementation has been shown to reverse all key components of ferroptosis and Cellular Fragility Syndrome across multiple models and two independent teams.

• Independent validation by multiple teams throughout the world. Importantly, the role of C15:0 as an essential fatty acid has been evaluated by independent teams in Canada, China, and France using gold-standard studies for essential nutrients. Ciesielski et al. showed that neonatal mice deprived of C15:0 develop a nutritional deficiency, which is fixed when they are fed C15:0. This team also reviewed the literature and reconfirmed that C15:0 met the criteria of an essential fatty acid. Ruan et al. demonstrated that baby C. elegans worms, when deprived of all nutrients, go into a hibernating state; when feeding them just C15:0 and no other nutrients, these worms developed normally. Further, numerous population studies have repeatedly shown that 1) adults who have higher C15:0 levels have better long-term metabolic, cardiovascular, liver, cognitive, and red blood cell health; 2) children who have higher C15:0 levels have better cardiovascular, liver, cognitive, and skeletal muscle mass health; and 3) infants who get more C15:0 from mom’s milk have healthier body growth and brain development.

For Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson’s groundbreaking discoveries around C15:0, including the detailed pathophysiology of a nutritional C15:0 deficiency syndrome that may be impacting as many as 1 in 3 people globally, she has been recognized as a 2025 CNBC Changemaker.

C15:0 as the Longevity Nutrient. We Literally Wrote the Book on This :)

Geroprotectors are considered the “holy grail of healthy aging” because they effectively slow and reverse the aging process at the cellular level, resulting in tangible benefits. Leading longevity-enhancing candidates (e.g. rapamycin and metformin) show promise because they have evidence of being geroprotectors: providing both clinically relevant health benefits and tapping into key longevity pathways, such as mTOR inhibition and AMPK activation, respectively. Numerous studies, including cell-based and in vivo studies, prospective cohort study metaanalyses, and clinical trials, have demonstrated how C15:0 meets the criteria of a geroprotector, which are described in the table below.

The robust science behind C15:0’s essential role in longevity and healthy aging for humans (and dolphins) is the topic of a TEDx talk and the recently released and best-selling Simon & Schuster book, The Longevity Nutrient, authored by S. Venn-Watson.

C15:0 Mechanisms of Action, Efficacy & Human Studies

In addition to strengthening cell membranes against lipid peroxidation, which is a core and essential evolutionary enabler of healthy aging and longevity, C15:0 is a pleiotropic nutrient (which means it does a lot of heavy lifting in other areas, too). Numerous studies have shown that the pure, free fatty acid C15:0 ingredient in fatty15 has multiple target-specific and dose-dependent mechanisms of action that are well established to support metabolic, liver, heart, immune, and cognitive health. This explains why these C15:0 health benefits have been seen across human cell-based efficacy, in vivo efficacy and clinical trials. You can dive into the details, system by system, in the table below.

C15:0 Clinical Trials

As summarized in the table above, controlled clinical trials show that increased C15:0 intake results in raised C15:0 levels and evidence of improved liver and red blood cell function, lowered LDL cholesterol, improved gut microbiome, lowered anxiety, and improved vascular function within 12 weeks. Additionally, robust human clinical trials have shown that oral pure, free fatty acid (FFA) C15:0, on average, is 100% bioavailable across broad gender, age, and disease groups. In general, for every 100 mg of FFA C15:0 (the only active ingredient in fatty15) ingested, circulating C15:0 concentrations increase by 10 µM (equivalent to 1 µg/ml, or approximately 0.1% total free fatty acids). These clinical trials  align with what we now know about how C15:0 works, and at what concentrations and doses. How about that?

Purity & Quality, Third-Party Tested

As a result of the strong science behind C15:0’s healthy aging benefits, the Office of Naval Research funded the Venn-Watsons to develop a pure, bioavailable, vegan-friendly and optimized C15:0 ingredient to supplement diets and strengthen cell membranes against age-related breakdown.  The result? The pure C15:0 ingredient in fatty15. Each and every batch is 3rd party tested for C15:0 purity (> 99%).

Credible & Reliable Science-Backed Claims, Third-Party Backed

Fatty15 uses an independent, 3rd party of experts who  review the science on an ongoing basis and confirms that fatty15 claims are backed by Credible and Reliable Scientific Evidence (CARSE). By taking this above-and-beyond step, fatty15 provides consumers with extra confidence that fatty15 has credible science that backs its claims.

Sustainable & Eco-Friendly

When we were readying fatty15 for the market, our team wanted packaging that rose to the same high level as our science. If we were saving dolphins and saving humanity, why not save the Earth, too? That’s why our packaging is sustainable (and oh-so-gorgeous) through and through. From the eco-friendly bamboo cap. To the reusable clear green glass bottle. And recycled and recyclable packaging, including the tape!). Plus algal inks. And no plastics. 

Loved by Customers

Since its launch in January 2021, fatty15 has maintained a 95% monthly customer retention rate and currently has over 100,000 active subscribers. Among over 3,900 fatty15 customers surveyed, 70% reported health benefits within 16 weeks, including deeper sleep, calmer mood, improved joint comfort and improved blood labs. Fatty15’s robust direct-to-consumer performance, coupled with more recent expansions into the Amazon.com and healthcare provider channels, have led to Seraphina’s 3,031% growth from 2021 to 2024. 

Award-Winning Fatty15

With all this science and customer love, the accolades have been wonderfully mounting. In addition to this most recent Inc. 5000 high ranking, the Seraphina Therapeutics and fatty15 team has received 20+ awards, including been recognized as a 2025 CNBC Changemaker, Mindful Awards 2025 and 2024 Best Overall Supplement, 2025 Wellbeing Award for Best Breakthrough Supplement, Newsweek 2024 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Supplement Brand, 2024 and 2023 Fast Company World Changing Idea in Wellness, and Nutritional Outlook’s Best of the Industry Award as an Ingredient Supplier.

Above, Drs. Steph & Eric Venn-Watson, the wife-and-husband, veterinarian-physician military family and entrepreneurial duo behind Seraphina Therapeutics and fatty15.

Sparking A Global Healthy Aging Movement

In summary, we are incredibly grateful to the Navy and the dolphins for helping to unlock a core evolutionary tool of longevity that truly supports long-term wellness and healthy aging at all stages of life. Our movement to improve global health is on, and our discovery of C15:0 as an essential nutrient is proof that there are still simple and wholly meaningful discoveries to be made that can improve the health of all. Go dolphins. Go science. 

Nerd Out On The Science

Speaking of which, you can nerd out on the 100+ peer-reviewed studies, including all of the papers that back the science throughout this blog, at DiscoverC15.com.