In the food and beverage industry, Heura Foods has secured €40m ($42.9m) in Series B financing to drive the company to profitability and fortify its position as an industry front-runner. Upfield, Unovis Asset Management, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, and New Tree Impact are among the contributors to this recent capital investment.
The plant-based business, led by co-founders Marc Coloma and Bernat Añaños, has yet to turn a profit almost seven years after its establishment but remains confident in its vision for the future of Europe’s protein transition. Heura Foods manufactures an array of plant-based products, from burgers, sausages, and chicken to fish fillets and fingers, and has distributors in European markets and further afield.
According to co-founder and CEO Marc Coloma, this funding is a recognition of the company’s vision at the forefront of Europe’s protein transition and will allow the company to “develop breakthrough tech to tackle the key challenges within the industry in a scalable way.” The business predominately supplies markets in Europe, including the UK, France, and Austria, and has distributors in locations such as Singapore, Canada, and Chile. According to an interview with Just Food last year, Heura Foods had no plans to enter the US and confirmed sales revenue amounted to €31.4m in 2022.
Despite the positive news, the overall plant-based industry has faced challenges, with sales and volume growth forecast to slow in the years ahead. A number of European producers in the sector, such as The Meatless Farm and Plant & Bean, went out of business in 2023, indicating signs of “stagnation” in an overcrowded market.
The company remains focused on launching what they call ‘successor’ products with the highest repeat rates in the category while expanding its business through tech licensing to accelerate the food system transformation. Upfield CEO David Haines described Heura Foods as a “pioneering food-tech focused on making waves with clean-label technologies that deliver both on nutrition and taste.”
The company’s statement also highlighted the continued goal of launching new products with high repeat rates in their category, expanding business through tech licensing, and enticing a broader audience to accelerate the food system transformation. This strategic coalition forms one of the biggest plant-based alliances to set new industry standards, accelerate international expansion, and explore new collaboration models beyond its own branded meat alternatives. Heura Foods also confirmed that it has filed a patent that “allows never-seen-before nutritional values, additive-free, that can be applied across multiple plant-based food categories.”
