Heura launches Good Rebel Tech to rewrite plant-based food processing rules

Heura has developed a new approach to food technology that will produce sustainable macro- and micro-nutrient dense foods that it says “goes beyond what’s been technologically possible to-date”.

According to Europe’s fastest-growing plant-based meat company, Good Rebel Tech (G.R.T.) will spearhead a “sustainable food frontier”, using non-utilised plant sources in their naturally-occurring structures.

By discovering new plant fractions and elucidating their structures at different scales, Heura’s R&D team, the TechRebels, have developed a technological platform that exploits intrinsic plant properties to unlock healthier food options using simple, low-energy processes.

“Instead of focusing on extracting and isolating proteins from legume seeds, we are researching ways to leverage the functionality of whole plants in their naturally occurring structures.” said Isabel Fernández, Heura science & technology director. “This unique approach enables the team to valorise micronutrients naturally present in the starting materials, and simply enhance its bioavailability when required, as opposed to including them as additive ingredients. This results in minimal and only physical processes being needed during product manufacturing, and avoids all chemical processing.”

Isabel Fernández, Heura director of science and technology said by leveraging discoveries in cellular plant physiology, colloids and biopolymer science combined with computational fluid dynamics and engineering techniques, Heura has been able to create a technological platform that “rewrites current plant-based food processing rules, and leads to a new sustainable manufacturing ecosystems”.

“Various industries ranging from energy to transportation have undergone critical technological transitions to increase sustainability, and now it’s the food industry’s turn, ” said food activist, CEO and Heura co-founder Marc Coloma. “We’ve created Good Rebel Tech to pave the way for animal-meat successors that are derived directly from nature using low carbon-footprint technologies. Our aim is to leverage technology to provide holistic solutions that are more sustainable and nutritious than ever before.”

Looking ahead, Good Rebel Tech will be filing its first patents throughout 2022, covering the production of nutritionally superior plant-based products. Over the past year, Heura has quadrupled the size of its expert R&D team, and will launch up to 10 new products in 2022.

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