The life benefits platform formerly known as Twic Inc. announced today it has rebranded as “Forma” to reflect its “renewed focus” on matching employees with the benefits that matter most to them.

The rebrand comes as Forma revealed it has raised $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors Emergence Capital, Designer Fund, Upside Partnership and AngelPad.

Forma was founded as Twic in 2017. It has created a life benefits platform that’s used by companies to design and scale flexible benefits programs that incorporate health, wellness and lifestyle planning.

Using Forma, companies can customize the benefits they offer to employees by tapping into a benefits vendor network that offers more than 250 individual benefits products. Forma’s employee-directed benefits cover six categories, including family and relationships, education and career, wellness and lifestyle, basic health and protection, money and health, and work and performance. The platform also provides data analytics capabilities that make it possible for employers to obtain real-time insights into their employees’ engagement, use and satisfaction with the various benefits they offer.

There are other benefits to using Forma too. Employers get to manage all of their benefits’ contracts, renewals, payments and sign-ups in one place, while employees will receive between 10% and 30% savings on various products in its marketplace. Forma also offers and Intelligent Card for employees that’s similar to a flexible spending account debit card.

By using Forma’s platform to provide benefits to employees, companies will not only be able to improve employee retention, but also gain a competitive advantage when it comes to recruitment, the company said. It cites a 2020 study by MetLife Inc. that shows how 69% of workers indicated that a wider array of benefits would increase their loyalty to their employer.

“Too often, employer-provided benefits are underutilized because employees have difficulty accessing them or even know they exist,” said global industry analyst Josh Bersin. “Our research shows that matching benefits to employee needs and streamlining access is essential when creating a holistically healthy organization.”

Forma co-founder and Chief Executive Jason Fan (pictured, left, alongside co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Max Hsieh) said it’s important for employee benefits to fit with employees’ lives, rather than the other way around.

“We created Forma to help companies provide flexible benefits to employees to support the life moments that matter most,” Fan said. “In this next stage of our business, we look forward to continuing to address a market need for more flexibility and choice by providing better benefits options for today’s leading companies.”

Some of the biggest tech firms in the U.S. are already taking advantage of Forma’s benefits platform, including Zoom Video Communications Inc., Palo Alto Networks Inc., Twitch Inc. and Stripe Inc. Forma has grown fast, with its revenue increasing by four times over the past year and its customer base increasing by 350%, though the company didn’t reveal specific numbers. Forma claims to be managing more than $500 million in benefits budgets annually for more than 125 companies.

With the new funding and brand name, Forma said, it aims to accelerate its company roadmap to expand the concept of employee choice across the benefits industry. It also plans to double its own staff headcount by the end of 2023.

Image: Forma