Heaven bets on oats to grow in Italy: crowdfunding kicks off
In the last two years, the plant-based specialist brandi has almost tripled its turnover and expects to close 2024 with a turnover approaching two million euros
2' min read
2' min read
Heaven, an Italian brand specialising in oat-based products, is launching its first equity crowdfunding campaign with the possibility of starting with an investment of just €200, with a target of raising €300,000 (2% equity).
Heaven - they announce from the CrowdFundMe platform - is present in over 4,000 points of sale including those of Esselunga, Coop, Conad, Carrefour, Eataly, Cortilia, Viaggiator Goloso, Unes, Spar and Decò, as well as in more than 600 bars.
its offer includes two product lines: four drinks and three yoghurts, all oat-based and with no added sugar, developed in-house at its R&D hub in Milan, ensuring a strong competitive advantage.
"Until now, the Italian food & beverage market has been dominated by multinationals, stifling innovation, which has always been the strong point of start-ups and SMEs. Heaven is bringing a new concept to Italian consumers: innovative products, loved for their taste and quality, but with all the benefits of plant-based," said Brendan Harris, co-founder of Heaven together with Inga Jasiuvian. Heaven is their second collaboration after launching Froosh in the Nordic countries, which quickly climbed into the smoothie segment.
Heaven has almost tripled the volumes sold in the last two years, with a 2.7-fold increase in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2022 (406,650 litres in H1 2024 vs 149,845 litres in H1 2022). Same trend for turnover and expects to close 2024 with a turnover approaching two million euros (H1 2024 amounting to € 737 thousand a vs € 269 thousand in H1 2022). Its product range has grown from three to seven and, this year, it launched a line of oat yoghurt with live milk enzymes, no added sugars, 'and a creamy texture that is unlike a cow's yoghurt'.
"According toIri/Circana data on large-scale distribution," reads a note, oats are the fastest-growing ingredient in the vegetable beverage segment: between 2019 and 2023 it recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of +29% in value and "it is estimated that between 2024 and 2029 oats will grow by 20% annually, reaching a turnover of more than EUR 200 million and a 58% market share of vegetable milk.
