9/27/2023 0 Comments Blue horizon venture![]() We just want to be part of the change.” Blue Horizon Ventures: Investing in sustainable food I think the amount of meat that we eat is astonishing, and we all know the impact it has on our health and the environment. But we’re in this to help people reduce their animal-based meat consumption. She explains: “We’re not against people eating meat. Gonzalez notes that Blue Horizon Ventures is not in the market to impose veganism on people. “If we are part of this movement, then we also have to experience it – and it was not hard at all! We really enjoyed the change.” “Michael and I turned vegans at that point because we thought that to convey the message of sustainability, it was very important also to change our lifestyle,” she says. The location in Europe and the sound economic and environmental climate of the country were a boon for the fund, which was set up to invest only in plant-based and sustainable food. “We lived in Spain, but we packed our bags, grabbed our kids and moved to Switzerland,” says Gonzalez, noting the choice was strategic. The company produces organic fresh ready-to-eat meals Lunch Vegaz is the latest investment by Blue Horizon Ventures. ![]() The fund has a team in Zurich, which has invested in 15 portfolio companies, including Dutch cell-based trailblazer Mosa Meat, US-based gelatine maker Geltor, and microalgae pioneer Algama. Today, the fund manages nearly $220 million – it expanded the initial target of €100 million in Q4 2018. Two-and-a-half years have passed since they decided to establish Blue Horizon Ventures. “Even though we give priority to financial performance through the implementation of our investment thesis, we do true impact.” “Together as partners, we decided that launching the fund was the correct move for us to start doing something that’s more meaningful,” says Gonzalez. Partnering with Kleindl, a close friend of his for more than two decades, was a great opportunity to continue supporting those businesses.Īt that time, Kleindl was running Seaya, a venture capital fund in Spain investing in technology in the country and Latin America. Lienhard had been backing vegan companies as an angel investor since 2016 and realised those companies will require an extra cash injection to support their growth. The venture capitalists got together through friendship and a mutual interest in sustainable food. Gonzalez tells me about her work in logistics and as a buyer at Costco and in sales at Kipling Mexico, so I’m not surprised when she argues this background, together with her qualification as an engineer, has shaped the way she engages with start-ups at Blue Horizon Ventures, the venture capital fund that Gonzalez helped launched together with her husband Michael Kleindl, Roger Lienhard and Dr Regina Hecker. I can see her recalling memories of her childhood because she smiles as she speaks. “I basically grew up inside the store!” she tells me, noting her dad has been Costco Mexico Director since the early 90s. “I spent most of my free time watching him work.” Mariana Gonzalez grew up in Mexico and her family built one of the country’s most successful retail businesses – Comercial Mexicana. Building on her background in retail and logistics, the member of the founding team of the Luxembourg venture capital fund discusses retail and rate of sales strategies for sustainable food brands
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