Heura patented a process to make plant-based sausage and ham with short ingredient lists

Barcelona plant-based meat company selling soy-based meat alternatives, now moving into deli and charcuterie-style products.

That a scalable patented process can make plant-based deli products more nutritious and cleaner-label than rivals' trial-and-error blends.

€36M raised to date, including a €4M equity crowdfunding round in 12 hours (per The Next Web)

Heura Foods was founded in 2017 in a Barcelona co-working office, and its first customer was a small local business in the Poble-sec neighbourhood. In 2022 it launched a research platform, Good Rebel Tech, and replaced coconut oil with a 100% olive-oil-based analogue.

On 25 April 2023 Heura announced its first patent: a thermomechanical process that uses heat and mechanical energy to shape plant material. It says this yields higher-quality inputs and shorter ingredient lists, with frankfurter-style sausage at 72% protein density and ham-style slices at 70%.

Heura aimed to put both products on shelves by the end of Q4 2023; it reported 2022 turnover of €31.4M and 44% growth in Q1 2023.

Enthusiasm for vegan meat alternatives had waned, with Beyond Meat shares losing over 60% in a year.

Plant-based products are often criticised as ultra-processed, with long lists of additives and little nutrition.

Coloma said a rush of products launched without meeting consumer expectations had hurt the whole category.

When a category cools and every product looks alike, a defensible process and a better label can be the differentiator, but it still has to reach shelves.

As of 27 April 2023, Heura said the first patent was one of many to come and that the two deli products were due in stores by the end of Q4 2023; it also had agreements with retailers in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. The Next Web could not glean the technical details of the breakthrough.