Plant-Ex, a producer of natural plant-based ingredient solutions, has secured a £9m minority investment from equity investor BGF to drive its international expansion.

The company is headquartered in Bristol, UK, and is looking to expand internationally with a particular focus on the US market. The funding from BGF will help to support ‘significant’ growth for the business, Plant-Ex said in a statement announcing the investment.

Founded in 2010, Plant-Ex supplies food manufacturers across the globe with natural food colours, extracts and flavours, through its own facilities and network of distribution partners.

In the last month, Plant-Ex has expanded with a new factory in Bristol providing double the capacity of its previous site. Following the launch of Plant-Ex Ingredients in Chicago earlier this year, the company wants to focus further on the US. It also has sites in Poland and Turkey.

Alongside the BGF investment, Plant-Ex has appointed Susan Barratt as non-executive chair of the company’s leadership board, through BFG’s Talent Network.

Giles Drewett, founder and CEO of Plant-Ex, said: “Having founded this organisation 14 years ago, it’s been an eventful journey that started in Bristol and has now taken our products to over 50 countries, all over the world. It’s a huge privilege to be working in partnership with BGF, and to welcome Susan to our board.”

He added: “Plant-Ex has an exceptional portfolio of products, with some world-beating expertise in product development and manufacturing. Having the funds in place, combined with strategic support from BGF and Susan, means that the next major developments can be planned and executed to deliver against the high standards expected by our international customer base.”

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