JAMAICAN vegan ice cream brand Vineyard Town’s Premium Blend has secured an investment from a World Bank-backed private equity fund to fuel a domestic and international expansion, the companies said in a joint release on Tuesday.

The brand’s owner, BabyLove’s C-G Foods Limited (BCG), and the fund, JASMEF I Limited, announced the strategic partnership. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The investment is intended to support several growth initiatives, according to a joint statement. These include scaling up production at a new manufacturing facility in Ocho Rios, rolling out a national distribution partnership, and developing a tourist-facing ice cream emporium at the same site.

JASMEF, which is also supported by the Development Bank of Jamaica, focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises in the Caribbean. The deal represents its third investment in the region.

BCG, founded by entrepreneur Laurie “Larry” Gardiner, produces a range of coconut milk-based frozen desserts under the Vineyard Town’s Premium Blend label. The products are stocked in major Jamaican supermarkets, hotels, and a small chain of owned parlours called Twist.

“The partnership with JASMEF provides the capital and strategic support to accelerate our vision,” Gardiner said in the statement.

The company stated that a key part of its expansion plan involves a new distribution agreement to place its products in thousands of additional retail locations across Jamaica, a step seen as a precursor to exporting to markets in the Caribbean, the United States and the United Kingdom. No specific timeline for export was given.

Murat Tasci, President of JASMEF, pointed to broader consumer trends in the announcement. “We are backing a proven Jamaican champion with exceptional growth potential in the plant-based foods segment,” Tasci said.

Zhan Li, vice-president of JASMEF, noted the fund’s focus on impact, stating the investment aims to support a “Jamaican food industry ecosystem from farm to supermarket”.

BCG sources ingredients including coconut milk from local farmers in collaboration with the Coconut Industry Board. The planned emporium in Ocho Rios will be located in the former headquarters of Island Records, near the main cruise ship terminal.

Larrie Gardener, founder of BabyLove CG Foods, the producers of Vineyard Town Premium Blend ice cream, poses with some of the products in this June 2023 file photo.