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“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.”
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