LONDON — In its bid to back purpose-led consumer brands, Iris Ventures has invested 6 million euros in Olistic, a science-backed nutraceutical brand that treats hair loss and the approach to life aspects that contribute to it.

Iris, which led the Series A funding round within the Barcelona-based company, said it invested because Olistic “has broken the mold, developing best-in-class, vegan, all-natural products backed by science for each men and girls, a category often ignored by competing brands.”

Iris noted that the hair growth industry was value multibillions of dollars, “and stays dominated by prescription and traditional synthetic solutions, with little to no customer feedback and relationship.”

Olistic sells its products in Spain and Portugal through its website and top pharmacies and hospitals. The brand’s cofounders said the investment can be used for further research, to scale the product line, and to expand within the U.K. and Continental Europe, specifically France, Italy and Germany.  

Montse Suarez, founder and managing partner of Iris Ventures, said with health care on the forefront of consumers’ minds, Olistic has the potential “to turn out to be a serious wellness player, addressing the needs of the fashionable consumer. The convergence between beauty and wellness is a fact, and problems akin to hair loss for ladies have been neglected for too long, creating a possibility for investment.”

Inés Ures, partner at Iris Ventures, said the fund was impressed by Olistic’s “early days traction and positive customer feedback,” and noted that it has been performing equally strongly across online and offline channels.

“A direct success, the product has been enthusiastically received by the industry, including leading dermatologists and pharmacists,” Ures added.

Hair care is amongst the most well liked product categories in beauty today, with investors honing in on the wellness and dietary angle.

The investment in Olistic comes just a few months after Unilever signed an agreement to accumulate a majority stake in Nutrafol, a maker of wellness products and the highest dermatologist-recommended hair-growth brand within the U.S. Nutrafol’s product range addresses issues akin to thinning hair and compromised hair health for ladies and men of all ages.

Olistic sees itself as a 360-degree health and well-being brand, offering advice to customers and helping them address the myriad aspects that may very well be contributing to the hair loss, akin to weight loss plan, stress, menopause and aging.

Its cofounders are Pedro Luis Gonzalez Atienza, global director of Innovation and Product Planning at Almirall, considered one of the highest derma-pharma corporations in Europe, and Pablo Nueno, a former consultant at digital strategy firm ABN Metrics and e-commerce expert.

After five years of research and clinical trials, Olistic launched in January 2021. In an interview, the cofounders said they’re working with the latest-generation nutraceuticals, a term used to explain products derived from food sources which have health and dietary advantages.

The natural, vegan formulations are wealthy in vitamins and minerals and are available as drinkable every day doses. Olistic said the revolutionary liquid formulation, which it worked on for greater than five years, guarantees maximum absorption and effectiveness.

The corporate said it has 100,000 clients and has been endorsed by greater than 300 pharmacists and dermatologists.

In accordance with Nueno, whose title is chief executive officer, an estimated 40 percent of men suffer some extent of hair loss by the age of 35, with that number rising to 70 percent by the age of 80. Some 80 percent of girls suffer hair loss from the age of 60.

“Our aim is to deliver revolutionary products that address hair health while improving people’s intrinsic wellbeing,” he said.  

González Atienza, Innovation adviser at Olistic, described the corporate as a “mission-driven” wellness brand.

He added that hair health is barely the start. Now that Olistic has developed and its proprietary formulations it plans to scale and add hair growth products, then quickly move into skin, nail and antiaging, categories in the subsequent couple of years.

González Atienza added that Olistic’s products are the fruit of 20 years spent within the pharmaceutical industry, and said he was particularly pleased with the brand’s liquid formulation, which took an extended time to develop, but guarantees maximum absorption.

Iris Ventures describes itself as a growth equity fund targeting European and U.S. “purpose-led consumer-centric brands and tech-enabled solutions that provide for healthier, happier and easier lives.”

It has a  presence in Barcelona, London and Recent York.

Earlier this 12 months, the fund took stakes in Allyson Felix’s Saysh footwear brand, and Artemest, a curated platform that sells furniture, lighting, kitchen and homeware made by Italian artisans.