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Plastic-free chewing gum brand, Milliways, has announced plans to further scale the brand with a £3 million fundraising round. The fundraising will go towards increasing its distribution in the UK, marketing campaigns and international expansion. Based in London, UK, Milliways was founded and launched in 2021 by Tom Raviv as a plastic-free, plant-powered alternative after Raviv discovered that conventional gum contained single-use plastics. Investors include private equity firm KLT, owner of Intergum Leon Amram, and partner at Blandford Capital and ex-board member of Sodastream, David Morris. The business says it has seen significant growth, from an initial online-only launch to being stocked in approximately 6,000 UK stores in just over two years. KLT’s CEO, Brad Kark, said: “We are truly excited about our partnership with Milliways and Tom as they make significant progress in developing a world-class product, strong team and unique brand. We are looking forward to supporting Milliways with their global ambitions of providing consumers with a sustainable and enjoyable chewing gum experience while positively impacting the environment.” Raviv commented: “We’re now at a monumental moment in the industry where brands like ours have a voice and a real opportunity to scale effectively. Securing this funding round with such a high calibre of investors is testament to the incredible opportunity that lies ahead as we aim to make Milliways a household name to everyone, everywhere, every day, for all the right reasons. “It’s a bit of a David and Goliath story in the chewing gum industry. Since day one, we’ve faced and overcome a series of seemingly insurmountable challenges – we launched a product that is highly social and impulsive in nature during the height of the pandemic lockdowns, and when we initially won listings with wholesalers, we were fighting for shelf space at the tills. “We worked hard to win listings with retailers which have had limited optionality given the concentration of a few mega brands that have dominated the category for decades. Ultimately, we’ve overcome that too, and I truly believe we’re just getting started.” This new fundraising round follows Milliways’ initial £1 million round, which was completed in September 2021.