More and more people are deciding to reduce or eliminate meat consumption from their diet. They do so aware of the impact of this industry on the environment, as well as to reduce animal suffering. Plant-based alternatives like those offered by Heura are finding an increasingly larger audience, demonstrating that their meat that is not meat tastes good and is also healthy.
This way, it is understood that the Barcelona startup has managed to raise more than four million euros in just 12 hours through Crowdcube, a British platform for investments in emerging companies. It has done so by adding some 4,500 investors in its latest crowdfunding campaign. In statements to The New Barcelona Post, Heura co-founder, Bernat Añaños, explains that the objective of this campaign was to allow consumers who share their strategy to become shareholders, with the aim of making them feel more a part of the company.
The minimum investment amount was 20 euros and the maximum was 20,000 euros. The average investment was 925 euros. Participants in this round are from countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Switzerland, as well as Spain. Almost half of the investors are between 18 and 35 years old, and 42% are women. With this profile, Añaños emphasizes that Heura "breaks with investment stigmas."
The minimum amount to invest has been 20 euros and the maximum has been 20,000 eurosMany of the investors have participated symbolically to support its business philosophy. Some have also invested for the first time in a round. The majority are individual people, remarks Añaños, although he points out that they will soon announce the best-known names that have participated in the round.In the middle of last year, Heura raised four million euros in another campaign ofcrowdfunding, in which more than 3,000 investors participated, among whom were footballers Saúl Ñíguez, Cesc Fàbregas, Borja Iglesias, Sergi Roberto and Chris Smalling.
All of them have joined Heura's shareholding, which also includes international funds such as New Crop Capital (USA), Green Monday (Hong Kong), Kale United (Sweden), and Tech Transfer Agrifood (Spain). In addition, investors such as Glovo founder Oscar Pierre and Belgian Michiel van Deursen are partners in the company.
Founded in 2017, the company will use the resources obtained in the latest round to strengthen its strategic lines, such as the development of the Heura Lab 2.0, which is intended to accelerate the creation of new plant-based protein products and generate new production technologies with a minimal carbon footprint. Añaños states that the new center, which will be located in 22@, will open in the coming months. Currently, the company's R&D team consists of 15 employees, a number that will grow to 30 with the new center. The staff in other departments will also increase, responding to the global growth it is experiencing, going from the current 130 to 200 by the end of the year.
Throughout 2022, Heura plans to develop up to ten new products, which will join its nuggets, burgers, sausages, chorizo, and meatballs that imitate chicken, beef, or pork. The company is also focused on reducing the price of its products, preventing it from being a deterrent when choosing to consume Heura or meat products.
Heura's new R&D center, which will be located in 22@, will open in the coming monthsMaking its plant-based protein accessible also means reaching more countries and consolidating its position in Spain, says Añaños. Italy, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Mexico are the markets in which they want to strengthen.The company plans to reach new European markets. Now, its products can be purchased in supermarkets in 22 countries, although Heura also has restaurants as one of its main business lines.
The Barcelona-based company doubled its turnover in 2021, reaching sales of 17.7 million euros, compared to eight million in 2020. For this 2022, they expect, at a minimum, to double their turnover again. The results respond to the launch of new products and the rapid growth in the number of stores where the brand is present, a figure that quadrupled in the previous year. Currently, it stands at 14,000 points of sale.