Luya secures funding for its plant-based alternatives to meat

Luya Foods develops and produces plant-based alternatives to meat without trying to imitate meat. The new funds will enable Luya to scale-up production and accelerate research and development.

Luya Foods rescues organic okara from going to waste. Okara is a by-product of tofu and soy milk production of which more than 14 million tons go to waste globally every year despite its high nutritional value and fiber content.

Luya has developed a proprietary, patent protected process – a combination of traditional fermentation methods and modern technology – to turn okara into delicious foods. The first products are ready-to-cook chunks and burger patties. Using this process, Luya skips all the additives and highly processed protein isolates, and offers 100% natural and organic products made in Switzerland.

The seed round was led by Redalpine Venture Partners. Luya, a spin-off from the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), previously received the support of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung, >>venture>>, VentureKick and BFH-HAFL. The newly secured funds will be used to satisfy the rapidly growing demand for Luya’s products, to accelerate R&D for future Luya products, as well as to strengthen Luya’s fermentation platform.

From their offices in Zollikofen (canton of Bern), the Luya team has successfully launched the Luya Okara Chunks and Luya Okara Burgers in selected Swiss restaurants in 2021. Currently, the start-up is working on launching its products on the Swiss retail market, which is estimated to happen in 2022.