Spanish Plant-Based Meat Startup Heura Raises €4M In 24 Hours During Crowdfunding Campaign

Spanish plant-based meat maker Heura has attracted an impressive €4 million (approx. US$4.8 million) within just 24 hours of launching its campaign on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. The Barcelona-based startup will be using the funds to fuel its R&D and launch new plant-based meat products on the market, after managing to triple its turnover in 2020 due to skyrocketing demand. 

Heura’s first-ever equity crowdfunding campaign kicked off with a bang, raising €4 million (approx. US$4.8 million) from more than 3,000 investors within just 24 hours on Crowdcube. The startup originally aimed for €3 million, but later raised the amount to the maximum of €4 million after reaching its first goal within 8 hours with 2,000 shareholders. 

“Today is a big step at Heura Foods history,” the company said in a social media post. “We just increased the maximum to €4M so if you want you still have time.” 

On Crowdcube, the Barcelona-headquartered food tech explained that it decided to raise capital through a crowdfunding campaign because it “needs partners to keep driving the change in innovation and R&D” and to “continue creating meat successors like chicken nuggets, sausage and mince meat” to launch across global markets. 

It also means being able to build its community of “good rebels” and enable its fans to become shareholders, with the minimum investment sum as low as €20, while the top-end is around €50,000.

Heura described its community as a “transformative global movement” that will push for the much-needed sustainable food revolution. It plans to launch four new products this year and bring the brand to even more markets internationally in order to provide consumers with greater plant-based options. 

“Without options there is no freedom,” stated the startup on Crowdcube, where its campaign garnered particular attention from young investors, with nearly half – 49% – aged between 18 and 30, while 35% of its shareholders are aged 31 and 40. 

The successful fundraise comes on the heels of Heura’s incredible growth since its inception in 2017, expanding its retail and foodservice presence from its base in Barcelona to France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Chile and most recently, the U.K. and in Italy. 

According to its annual report, Heura has managed to triple its turnover in 2020, saving an estimated 406,000 animals and 3 billion litres of water. The brand also stands as the fastest-growing plant-based startup in Europe, and has increased its fanbase to more than 190,000 in the past twelve months amid the pandemic-driven rise in demand in vegan food from mainstream consumers.  

The startup has even defended itself from continued efforts from the Spanish meat industry to hamper its growth, after a Barcelona court rejected a request to file a lawsuit against Heura for its billboard advert that said ““one beef burger pollutes more than your car”. 

Heura positions itself as a clean-label brand – a rising trend within the food industry – with its alternatives containing 32% fewer ingredients than the average plant-based meat product. Their newest plant-based burger has been dubbed the world’s healthiest, boasting 64.25% less fat compared to traditional beef burgers and 11.3% more protein per calorie. 

All images courtesy of Heura.