Minneapolis-based Novu has raised $20 million from SSM Partners and Noro-Moseley Partners for its app-enabled wellness program, which it offers to payors, providers, and employers.

“The health care system, to date, has not been successful in moving past a transactional relationship with the consumer, resulting in low rates of engagement and lack of trust,” Novu CEO Tom Wicka said in a statement. “Novu creates a meaningful connection between individuals and the health system, delivering new ways of reaching consumers and efficiencies for technologies, protocols and care teams."

The company said it "combines consumer marketing with health care insights and data to create tailored experiences for consumers". Before founding Novu, Wicka was the Chief Marketing Officer for IWCO Direct, a direct marketing company that focuses on developing consumer loyalty and rewards programs for Fortune 500 companies in travel, hospitality, retail, and financial services.

Novu works with providers, payors, and employers to offer their programs to patient populations, members, and employees. Novu is available on the web and for iPhones and it offers consumers more than 200 health programs, a social network to communicate with other users, health challenges and games, rewards for healthy behaviors, like discount offers, biometric screenings, and integration with third party health apps and devices.

Some of the health programs Novu offers, include smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, stress, sleep health, strength training, nutrition, and yoga.

Novu's customers include UnitedHealthcare, Medica, Fairview Health Services, and  Delta Dental of Minnesota. Medica extended its partnership with Novu at the end of last year. The payor explained at the time that based on the success of the program with Medica's individual and family plan members in mid-2013, Medica is now extending the platform to include its Medicare members, too.