Personalised nutrition brand Vitl has secured £6.2m in new investment to grow its DTC and retail sales as well as fund international expansion.

The brand, which offers vitamin, supplements and blood and DNA testing, has raised the cash via an oversubscribed funding round led by Swiss investment group Ornament Health.

New investors include Richard Pennycook, former CEO of the Co-operative Group, who joins existing investors including Samos Investments, Nogra Pharma Ltd and C4 ventures.

The funds will be used to further expand the brands DTC and retail offerings and enter new markets globally, as well as funding the expansion of its team.

Founded in 2015 by Jonathan Relph as a DTC brand, the company has since expanded into retail with listings in over 2,000 stores in the past year alone, including Sainsbury’s, Boots and most recently Holland & Barrett.

“It allows us to continue to expand our product range and distribution at a time when nutrition and wellness has become more relevant than ever,” said Relph.

“The pandemic reminded us all how important our health is and with our personalised products, on-the-shelf range and at-home tests, we hope to help even more people optimise and personalise their nutrition.”

Lead investor Ornament Health has invested in several health tech startups globally and developed its own Ornament health monitoring app with over 100,000 monthly active users.

Snezhana Gurina, executive director of Ornament Health, added: “Ornament is based on the ideologies of preventative medicine and individualised approach for each user. These principles are similar to those which Vitl are based on. For that reason, we are delighted to help contribute to the brand’s growth and development.”