Arran Aromatics has underlined its ambition to become a global brand after winning a near £3 million vote of confidence from financiers four years after it came close to collapse.
The soaps to candles business developed on the eponymous island has won £2.8m investment from the Business Growth Fund to support a big sales push in UK and overseas markets.
Arran Aromatics' chief executive, Iain Pittman, said: "Our plan is to treble the business to take it from a £5m family business into a £15m brand over the next five years."
Mr Pittman believes the company could build a big position in fast growing markets like Asia and the Middle East.
The company also plans to add four stores to its 10-strong estate in the UK, with openings in Aberdeen and London possible, and to beef up its online presence.
The Business Growth Fund's decision to take a significant stake reflects its belief in the potential global appeal of a brand developed by Iain and Janet Russell on Arran 25 years ago.
The Russells started producing toiletries in 1988, using pure honey and herbs from the island.
Ms Russell has said the products won a following partly due to the special affiliation people have with the Scots and with small islands like Arran.
The 67-year-old still works as an ambassador for Arran Aromatics and has shares in the company.
"The company's heritage, quality product offering and strong work ethic have created a very attractive investment proposition", said Duncan Macrae, an investment director at the Business Growth Fund.
The fund said Arran Aromatics is one of the few remaining toiletries companies in the UK to control every aspect of its products' lifecycles from formulating new lines to selling them in company-branded outlets.
It employs around 50 people on the island out of a total workforce of 120. Mr Macrae said Mr Pittman and the team at Arran Aromatics had done a tremendous job in stabilising the business and positioning it for growth.
Mr Pittman took charge in February 2009, a month after HMRC lodged a petition to wind up the company in respect of £180,000 underpaid payroll taxes.
He led a programme to refocus on profitable lines and to maximise efficiency, accompanied by store openings, which has paid dividends. The company met all the obligations inherited when he took charge.
Mr Pittman said the company maintained sales at around £5.2m in the year to February and recorded a cash profit. Describing market conditions as patchy, Mr Pittman said Arran Aromatics' stores have been performing well. It has been growing its hotel supply business. However, conditions are tough in the wholesale trade. "The key to it all is now that we have a bit of resource behind us to focus on telling the Arran story. We have got some fantastic products," he said. "In the Far East and Middle East the consumer loves western brands and likes premium brands and we think of ourselves as moving in that area," added Mr Pittman.
The company also sees scope to do much more business in the UK. It has one shop south of the border, at Dartington in Devon.
The Business Growth Fund has drafted in a retail heavy hitter to help lead the push for growth.Alastair Kerr, a Scot who ran Body Shop's operations in the UK and the Middle East, has become chairman.
The investment is the sixth completed in Scotland by the Business Growth Fund, which has invested £26.9m in total north of the Border. The £2.5bn fund was launched by five big banks in 2011, following claims lenders were failing to support businesses.
Other recipients in Scotland include AFG Media, the Edinburgh-based firm behind Morphsuits and three oil and gas firms.
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