Vegan footballer Chris Smalling invests six-figure sum in vegan meat giant Heura

Vegan soccer player Chris Smalling invests ‘six-figure sum’ in clean energy drink startup

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Mohsina Dodhiya3rd June 20213rd June 2021Celebrity, Food, News

“We are thrilled to have Chris on board and look forward to working towards a plant-based future together – one which is better for our planet and our health.”

Vegan footballer Chris Smalling has invested a six-figure sum in plant-based meat company Heura, according to Cityam.

The news comes as Heura secured €4m in less than 24 hours with an equity crowdfunding campaign on the investment platform Crowdcube this week.

The Spanish brand is the fastest-growing vegan meat company in Europe. One of its goals is to ‘accelerate the protein transition’ by creating ‘healthy, clean, and accessible’ alternatives to meat.

Marc Coloma is the co-founder of Heura. He said: “Backing from a top athlete like Chris further bolsters Heura’s nutritional credentials, which are second to none.

“We are thrilled to have Chris on board and look forward to working towards a plant-based future together – one which is better for our planet and our health.”

Chris Smalling’s investments

This is not the first time the vegan footballer has invested in vegan and health-related industries.

Earlier, this year, the ex-Manchester United player invested in a six-figure sum in Virtue Drinks.

This company based in London creates clean energy drinks that are ‘all-natural, with zero sugar or calories’.

Last year, Smalling invested in plant-based meat pioneer THIS – a brand that debuted in the UK vegan market back in 2019. THIS serves a range of ‘hyper-realistic’ alternatives to meat, bacon, and chicken.

Smalling has also invested in a company that makes textiles out of pineapple leaves called Ananas Anam.

Smalling’s vegan journey

Smalling transitioned to a vegan diet five years ago.

He followed his wife in making the dietary switch.

Smalling told the The Star in 2019: “My wife’s now been vegan for about four years now.

“I was trying some of her food for dinners and I started to notice the odd benefit.

“She’s a good cook anyway which helps, and I went from there if anything, I’m eating better than I was before – not just in terms of vegetable but different proteins.”