LONDON — The wellness category is wooing consumers and investors alike, and Iris Ventures is the newest fund to place its money behind products aimed toward enhancing the mind and body.

Iris, a growth equity fund targeting European and U.S. purpose-led, consumer-centric brands and tech-enabled solutions, has invested 5.5 million kilos in Biomel, a market-leading, plant-based gut health brand.

Biomel, founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife team Steven Hegarty and Janett Lozano, produces a spread of drinks, snack bars and powders at its innovation and manufacturing facility in west London.

Iris described the investment as strategic, and said it’ll position Biomel for an “unprecedented scale-up,” and help the corporate pursue its mission of constructing “good gut health delicious.”

The investor argued that Biomel created the plant-based gut health market with its series of dairy-free, cultured drinks with wealthy flavors including Belgian chocolate, vanilla and coconut. The formulas are supposed to aid digestive and immune health.

In line with Iris, Biomel’s operating profitability has been positive because the company’s second yr in business, while organic revenue growth has been averaging greater than 80 percent per yr.

Iris added that Biomel has been expanding capability at its west London innovation and production facility to fulfill soaring demand.

The brand sells through retailers within the U.K. including Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Whole Foods Market. It has also been growing the distribution network through independent retailer chains and in international markets.

Montse Suarez, founder and managing partner of Iris Ventures, said the choice to back Biomel’s founders “aligns perfectly with our mandate to empower a recent generation of extraordinary visionaries.”

She described Hegarty and Lozano as “clear trailblazers within the plant-based gut health category,” and said they’ve “a refreshing and contemporary brand proposition that resonates with the fashionable consumer.”

Hegarty, whose title is chief executive officer, said the brand relies on the premise that “your gut is at the center of your health. Gut health affects the whole lot from digestive to mental health through the gut-brain axis. The truth is, 70 percent of serotonin, the pleased neurotransmitter and hormone, is produced within the gut.”

Biomel, he added, has developed proprietary IP to create its “next-generation probiotic and prebiotic solutions,” and plans to work with Iris to drive “total category growth and market expansion, and position ourselves as a frontrunner within the functional gut health sector more broadly.”

Iris isn’t the primary investor to place its money behind a category referred to as functional nutrition.

Unilever has been making regular acquisitions in the world.

Last month, during a quarterly results presentation, Unilever said that brands including Liquid I.V., an electrolyte powder that claims to assist people rehydrate faster than water, and Olly gummy vitamins and supplements, were outstripping expectations.

Iris Ventures has a varied portfolio and its investments are lifestyle and innovation-focused.

Its businesses include Allyson Felix’s Saysh footwear brand; the Italian arts and crafts platform Artemest; and Mammaly, a number one pet complement brand.

Earlier this yr, Iris teamed with soccer stars Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann on a multimillion-euro investment in Vicio, a top food-delivery start-up based in Spain that sells premium burgers online, and thru its own physical locations.