Heura presents its first patent and opens a round to raise 30 million

New milestone for Heura Foods, the Barcelona-based startup of alternative plant-based protein products and meat successors. After exceeding 30 million euros in turnover in 2022, the company led by Marc Coloma and Bernat Añaños has just presented its first patent, a new food processing technology that it claims is a worldwide pioneer and that "breaks the rules of the game" of what was previously possible in the sector by allowing plant-based protein to imitate meat products such as cooked ham or Frankfurt sausages. Both products will be launched on the market during the third quarter.

In parallel to the patent process for this innovation, developed in the R&D laboratory that the company has a few meters from the Sagrada Familia, Heura is finalizing a Series B financing round with which it expects to raise 25 million euros, in an operation that will close this summer and that will be "the last round before profitability, expected for 2025," according to Coloma, founder and CEO. In the case of the Spanish market, the abandonment of losses is expected for this year, assures the entrepreneur.

Before the subscription of Series B ---aimed at professional investors worldwide---, Heura will open a new equity crowdfunding campaign on the Crowdcube platform on Friday, May 5, aimed at individual investors and fans of the brand ---whom it calls Good Rebels--- which will allow it to finance itself with up to 5 million more ---the legal maximum with this system---, so, in the coming months it will raise capital for a total of 30 million.

This figure, however, will rise to nearly 50 million if one takes into account that last October it already raised 17 million through a bridge round with convertible notes ---debt securities--- which now, obligatorily, with Series B will be converted into company shares. Since its inception six years ago, Heura has raised 32 million in financing, so if these two new capital increases are successfully closed, the total resources raised will amount to 62 million.

"More than a brand, we are a movement of people who want to change the world through the fork," emphasizes Coloma, convinced that the current food system based on animal protein "is unviable" and that it will not allow to sustainably face the 70% increase foreseen in global protein consumption until 2050. To this end, since 2017, Heura has launched products that imitate chicken, beef, and pork, and since January, it also markets a fish substitute. "We are leading the protein transition in the healthiest way possible, as these successor products have much higher protein density than traditional meat products and, in addition, incorporate healthy fats and fiber," he assures.

Marc Coloma: "More than a brand, we are a movement of people who want to change the world through the fork"

To achieve this milestone, in recent years Heura has multiplied its investment in its R&D department, so that now it not only has a laboratory dedicated to the development of new products, but also a science and technology laboratory that has developed the patent. For this, a little over a year and a half ago, Heura hired Isabel Fernández as scientific director, a Chemistry graduate with a PhD in Physics, with a long career in the food sector, where she worked in the research laboratories of large multinationals such as Danone, Mondelez and, especially Nestlé ---she worked at its R&D center in Lausanne---.

"This patent is the result of a great scientific effort; we have gone to basic science to understand how proteins interact. It is based on a 100% physical method; we do not use chemistry, but a novel thermomechanical technique that plays with temperatures and mechanical energy," explains Heura's Director of Science and Technology. "For the first time, we can generate a product of this type without any artificial additives, with higher nutritional value and superior sensoriality," she assures. "Until now ---she adds--- frankfurters could not be made in a healthy way; the ones we are going to launch will have a much higher protein density and, furthermore, with a short list of ingredients, all understandable to the consumer, such as soy and olive oil," she advances. The R&D department already has a team of 25 people.

In addition to frankfurters for hot dogs, Heura will launch a product that imitates the texture and flavor of cooked ham and can be sliced to the desired thickness, allowing for very thin and flexible slices. The patent, in addition to cold cuts, will allow the development of egg and dairy substitutes and even take a leap and be used to improve the protein values of other categories that have nothing to do with animal-derived foods, such as pasta. According to Marc Coloma, the ultimate goal is "to be able to make all the foods that people love healthy, but which, however, the WHO recommends minimizing their consumption".

Foods For Tomorrow, Heura's corporate name, invoiced 31.4 million euros in 2022, compared to 17.7 million in 2021, a 77% increase. International sales more than tripled (+260%) and now account for 23% of the turnover. Growth in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy stands out, although Heura has also already entered Switzerland and Austria. In the last year, the number of points of sale where its products are present has increased by 75%, from 13,000 to 22,700 stores. According to Coloma, the goal is to grow by double digits again this year and "become the sector leader in Europe by 2028", competing with large companies such as The Vegetarian Butcher (Unilever), Garden Gourmet (Nestlé), and Impossible Foods.

The company does not have any factories of its own and has outsourced production to seven manufacturers located in Spain and Central European countries. According to Coloma, having its own plant is not a priority now, as "there is a lot of installed capacity in the food industry", so it prefers to invest resources in R&D and in accelerating commercialization and international expansion.