The European faux-meat startup Heura announced yesterday that it secured $20 million in capital from a group of investors including soccer stars Sergi Busquets and Sergi Roberto as the firm keeps expanding its presence in the region.
According to the company, sales have doubled during the first semester of 2022 compared to a year ago with a total of €14.7 million in faux meat being sold during this period. These stellar growth rates have been achieved via partnerships with key retailers in the region such as Ocado in the United Kingdom and Carrefour in Italy.
The company is expecting to keep expanding at a fast pace within the next few years through other similar agreements as it aims to deliver triple-digit revenue growth to its growing investor base.
“With new funding in hand, a primary focus for Heura will be positioning itself as the European plant-based leader by 2027”, the company commented in its official press release.
What is Heura?
Heura commercializes plant-based beef, chicken, and pork meat in different presentations including strips, nuggets, and sausages. The company’s ingredients include soy, pea, and virgin olive oil.
The faux-meat startup is based in Barcelona and started its journey in 2017. According to its own stats, its products are available in 22 countries and over 12,000 establishments. They are reportedly the number one faux-meat provider in Spain – the company’s home country.
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In April this year, Heura raised capital via crowdfunding and received over €4 million from nearly 5,000 private investors through a campaign known as “Equity for Good Rebels”. This was roughly 5 times the amount the company was initially seeking to raise according to its Crowdcube site.
Now, the firm is reportedly preparing for a juicy Series B funding round next year. Heura anticipates that it could be the largest funding rounds in the alt-protein industry. In early September, the faux-meat Swiss startup Planted raised $72 million in a Series B funding round led by L Catterton.
In a recent interview with TechCrunch, the Chief Executive Officer of Heura, Marc Coloma, commented: “We’re not just looking to create foods that mimic animal meats. Rather, we are working to create animal ‘meat successors’, foods that go beyond animal meat as a benchmark, and prioritize delicious foods that are superior from a nutritional value and sustainability standpoint”.
To achieve this, the company launched an initiative called Good Rebel Tech that seeks to “redefine plant-based food manufacturing”. The program seeks to explore new techniques for extracting plant properties that can lead to the development of “healthier food options” that can also be manufactured without consuming a significant amount of energy.
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The initiative will be presenting its first patents for the industry this year. For this effort, Heura has multiplied the size of its research and development team by four and it plans to launch 10 new products.
Faux-meat Market in Europe Could Be Worth Almost $3 Billion in 2025
According to data from The Vegan Society, the market for alt-meats in Europe was valued at $1.72 billion as of 2019 and it is projected to grow to approximately $2.62 billion by the end of 2025.
The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy are reportedly the largest markets in the region for meat substitutes as they are the home of the largest number of vegetarians and vegans.
Textured Vegetable Proteins (TVP) are the most demanded type of product accounting for roughly 44% of the market in 2019 and are expected to grow at a pace similar to the overall alt-protein segment.
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