A simple question started the company. Why do so many women rely on the same few options for urinary tract infections, and why do those options often involve sugar-heavy drinks or repeated antibiotics?
Christine Jurzenski and Erica Schultz began asking that question while working in finance. A conversation between the two turned into a closer look at how UTIs are treated and prevented. They found that many people were familiar with cranberry as a remedy, but few understood how it worked or whether it was effective.
They started with small steps. Each week they gathered research, compared studies, and spoke with friends and family about their experiences. That early work focused on one point: cranberries contain compounds called proanthocyanidins, which can help prevent bacteria from attaching to the urinary tract.
At the same time, they saw a gap between that science and the products on store shelves. Many cranberry drinks contained added sugar. Tablets and supplements varied in dosage and formulation. They decided to test whether they could build something more consistent using the same underlying ingredient. That idea became Cranel.
The company formed around a concentrated cranberry shot designed to deliver a measured dose without added sugar. The product focused on prevention rather than treatment, positioning itself alongside, rather than in place of, traditional medical care.
The business did not start as a full-time effort. Jurzenski and Schultz worked on it alongside their jobs, moving forward in what they describe as “micro steps.” They handled research, sourcing, and early product development themselves, often learning unfamiliar parts of the process as they went.
Once they committed to building the company full time, the work expanded. They reached out to scientists and manufacturers, built supply chains, and developed a direct-to-consumer sales model. The timing of that shift coincided with the COVID-19 period, which pushed many early-stage brands to rely on online channels.
Education became a core part of how they presented the product. Many customers knew cranberry was associated with UTIs but did not understand the mechanism behind it. The company built content around that gap, using email, video, and customer stories to explain how the product fit into daily routines.
Cranel’s early product line stayed narrow. The cranberry shot remained the main offering, supported by a subscription model that encouraged repeat use over time. As the business grew, they added products tied to related areas such as gut, hair, and vaginal microbiome health.
