The trickle of business initiatives that want to position themselves in the international race to develop alternative products to meat is accelerating. Catalonia is a power in the food sector and does not want to be left out of a business that already moves billions of euros worldwide. Access to water and quality protein are presented as two of the main challenges that humanity will have to face in the coming decades; both resources are directly related to the fight against climate change and the need to establish new, more sustainable and environmentally friendly consumption models. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be 10 billion inhabitants in the world, and some surveys predict that by 2040, 60% of the proteins consumed will no longer come from animals.
In this context, the company Zyrcular Foods has opted to locate in Catalonia, specifically in Seva, in the Osona region, a factory that was born with the ambition of becoming the reference center in southern Europe for the production of alternative products to animal protein. The plant has involved an investment of 3.5 million euros, a figure that includes the construction of a first 1,500 square meter warehouse and the purchase of adjacent land for future expansions. The hiring of five people is planned for the start-up phase.
Zyrcular Foods is a company founded by the Vall family, owners of the Vall Companys meat and livestock group. It is not a subsidiary of the Lleida pig giant, but an independent company promoted by the group's shareholders, aware that they have to get on a train that seems unstoppable and that especially attracts younger consumers, that is, the consumers of the future. It might seem that they are shooting themselves in the foot, but that is not the case. Their reflection is that they are already one of the main producers of animal protein in Spain and that now they also have the opportunity to be so in the field of alternative or vegetable protein, that is, they will go from being producers of animal protein to simply producers of protein, of any type. Large multinationals such as Nestlé and Unilever, with the brands Garden Gourmet and The Vegetarian Butcher, respectively, have followed the same path.
The plant has been financed with resources provided by the shareholders and with a green financing line facilitated by BBVA.
Zyrcular Foods began its activity in mid-2019 as an importing company of the best international plant-based products. They brought to Spain, for example, the famous Beyond Burger, the vegan burger that imitates meat and is already listed on the Nasdaq in New York.
Now, Zyrcular Foods, whose CEO is Santi Aliaga, takes a step forward and, in addition to distributing third-party products, enters the business of producing its own alternative foods to meat and also to fish. It does not plan to create a brand of plant-based products aimed at the final consumer, but rather positions itself as a great specialist in the B2B segment. Thus, in this initial start-up phase, the Seva plant will produce vegetable burgers and minced meats for supermarket chains and also for horeca channel or foodservice clients, that is, for the restaurant sector. The factory will also develop meat substitute products for other industrial companies that do not have this technology. The goal is to start with a production of one million kilos per year, a figure that will multiply in subsequent phases if the project is successful and its product is accepted by consumers.
Zyrcular Foods' challenge is twofold because apart from producing meat analogue foods, it will also make preparations that imitate fish, a business segment that is also advancing at a good pace in the international market. Production will diversify in the future with all kinds of solutions and variants of alternative protein to animal protein.
The new Seva plant will have a very reduced environmental impact, as it is equipped with solar panels that generate 20% of the energy consumption; the rest of the energy will be of renewable origin generated with water jumps by the company Productora Elèctrica Urgellenca (feet).
One of the main challenges of the company is to supply itself in the future with local vegetable raw materials, since today, soy, the basic ingredient of this type of products, comes mainly from the American continent. For example, the cultivation of peas will be explored as one of the vegetable protein sources with the most potential, a fact that will also contribute to dynamizing the agricultural sector. In its research and in terms of nutrition, Zyrcular Foods will work hand in hand with the Faculty of Health of the Universitat de Vic.
In the vegetable protein sector, the company Heura Foods, created by Marc Coloma and Bernat Añaños, also operates in Catalonia. They have achieved strong market success thanks to the meat substitute product they have developed and which they manufacture through third parties in countries such as the Netherlands. The brand Heura, in this case aimed at the final consumer, is already present in more than 3,000 supermarkets in twelve countries and in 2020 has achieved a turnover of eight million euros.