The investment company will work in partnership with current shareholders David Jonas and Will Matier, both of whom will remain actively involved with the business. Tim Kelly, former COO of Premier Foods, also joins Vegetarian Express as executive chairman.
Tim Kelly, new executive chairman of Vegetarian Express, said: “VE has built a really strong platform as the go-to supplier of high-quality plant-based food ingredients. Bridges has a proven track record of helping businesses like VE to scale, in a way that amplifies their impact, so they’re a perfect partner for our next phase of growth.
“I look forward to working with Bridges and the VE team to build the business and give chefs the ingredients to develop great-tasting no-meat and lower-meat dishes, offering consumers a much broader choice.”
Bridges’ investment provides additional capital and support to accelerate Vegetarian Express’s plans to distribute a broader range of ingredients to existing foodservice sites more frequently, while also opening up delivery routes to new customers throughout the UK.