El BIHUB and Heura Foods join forces to promote innovation in the field of nutrition

Barça Innovation Hub, FC Barcelona's sports research, knowledge and innovation platform, has signed a sponsorship agreement with Heura Foods by which the two parties will seek to promote innovation in the field of nutrition to have a positive impact on society. The agreement also provides for the plant-based food company created in Barcelona to be the main partner of the Sports Tomorrow Congress, the sports innovation congress organised by the Barça Innovation Hub whose next edition will form part of the Mobile World Congress, to be held in 2023.

Thanks to this deal, Heura Foods and FC Barcelona are further reinforcing their relationship following the announcement last August that the food company would become a global partner of the women's football team. Now, through this extended alliance, Heura Foods is becoming the Official Plant-Based Protein Partner of BIHUB, and both organisations will be working together to generate added value in the field of sports development and performance through nutrition.

The agreement will also entail various collaborations with Heura Foods on the occasion of the Sports Tomorrow Congress, for which the plant-based food company has been granted the status of main partner. During the congress, it will be exhibiting its products that are based on sustainable and healthy criteria before the Sports Tomorrow audience, which is made up of entrepreneurs, innovators and professionals in different fields of science who will be searching for new, imaginative ideas and solutions, such as those offered by Heura Foods to the food industry. Apart from its products, Heura Foods will also be offering its knowledge to the experts and professionals who will be attending the Congress to discuss different topics related to sports and food.

The alliance between FC Barcelona and Heura Foods has come about due to a series of shared objectives and values that will also be reflected during the Sports Tomorrow Congress. These include commitment to driving the world towards greater sustainability through innovation. Leadership and the constant quest to have a positive impact on society are two of the inspiring principles of both organisations. Heura Foods, the fastest growing vegetable meat company in Europe, founded by activists Marc Coloma and Bernat Añaños in 2017, is hoping to create solutions that will lead to a food system in which animals are eliminated from the protein production equation and to promote more sustainable, nutritious and healthy alternatives.

BIHUB and knowledge transfer

Barça Innovation Hub was launched on 27 March 2017 as part of the club's commitment to more structured innovation, scientific research and knowledge transfer, with the implication of the whole institution. This declaration of principles, one of the pillars of the 'More than a blub' motto, has led BIHUB in just five years to become a benchmark for innovation and knowledge in different areas of the sports industry. This period has entailed 50 research projects and five projects with start-ups, while more than 16,000 professionals from 135 countries have taken online courses and postgraduate master's degrees in the field of the sports industry.