Layn, an ingredients supplier specializing in natural extracts and other solutions, announced a new addition to its botanical extracts portfolio through its acquisition of Wagott, China’s largest exporter of green tea extract, and leading producer of tea and resveratrol extracts.
 
In an agreement finalized on Oct. 13, Layn acquired 51% ownership of Wagott, to integrate and leverage resources, combine intellectual property and advantages in talent, management,, products, processes, and industry relationships to deliver increasing compelling value to customers, Layn said. The ingredients and formulation guidance will be available ot some of the world’s leading brands in food, beverage, flavor, nutraceuticals, personal care, animal nutrition, and pet health.
 
“It is exciting to combine our well-developed processes and technology to expand opportunities and bring increased value to the marketplace, particularly in bringing tea extracts, including natural polyphenols and L-theanine to market,” Feng Gu, general manager of Wagott, said. “Utilizing Layn’s formulation and application strengths and proprietary platforms designed to deliver new lines such as white tea and pu’erh tea extracts and organic certified tea extracts.” Gu will maintain his role as general manager for Wagott, which will be maintaining operations independently after the acquisition.
 
Layn has specialized in agronomy, botanical R&D, testing, manufacturing, and innovation over the past 25 years. The company said that its arrangement with Wagott is in line with Layn’s long-term strategic planning, and marks a significant milestone in its sustained commitment to innovation and leadership in quality botanical extract production and delivery.
 
Sourcing data from last year, Layn reports that Wagott’s green tea extract export value ranks first, and that it is a leading company in the field of green tea and resveratrol, sourced from giant knotweed, in China. The advances in Layn’s portfolio will include active ingredients such as polyphenols, theanine, and others.
 
“Layn’s state-of-the-art facility is optimized for botanical extraction and the production of sweeteners, fruit-based antioxidants, and herb-based functional ingredients,” Frank Xie, executive vice president of Layn Corp., said. “We continuously strive to advance our botanical science and R&D efforts, and unifying this with Wagott’s capacity and its leading, complementary ingredient portfolio puts us in a unique position of global leadership in innovation, production, yield, and cost – all focused on providing the ultimate value to our customers.”