Luciana Gaspar Zamora, Coventry-based founder of Perubien, is revolutionizing the UK food industry with ingredients from Peruvian crops, such as purple corn and yacon, that promote gut health and aid type 2 diabetes management. Luciana is collaborating with the Rowett Institute of the University of Aberdeen, backed by a competitive Innovate UK grant, to showcase the potential of these novel ingredients to food manufacturers. Additionally, she has participated in our Investment Readiness Programme to refine her business and investment strategy.

The challenge

Luciana faces multiple challenges as the sole funder of her business. A primary hurdle is building a competent team with complementary skills to support the company's growth. Luciana is seeking to secure further investment, which is critical for hiring new employees and scaling her business operations.

Successes

Through the Investment Readiness Programme, Luciana successfully applied for the Government’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), which offers tax reliefs to investors and is designed to support start-ups. She feels significantly more confident in approaching investors and has improved her pitch and business strategy. Luciana has made considerable progress, moving from being 40% to 95% ready to attract investors. She has also taken steps to promote her business by meeting stakeholders such as the Rowett Research team and the Ambassador of Peru. “At the end of the Investment Readiness Programme I feel more confident about what I need to do to deliver a successful business and the practicalities involved. I had very good one-to-one mentoring and this tailored support has made me look at Perubien in a different way”, Luciana said about her experience. 

The future

Luciana is planning to raise £240,000 to fund the next phase of her business, which includes hiring two employees within the next year. As the development of Perubien's functional ingredients advances, she aims to expand her team further, recruiting five more people. She also plans to increase the visibility of her products in the UK market, highlighting the nutritional, sensory, and health benefits of Peruvian crops.

Luciana is now better prepared to attract potential employees and investors, thanks to her improved business strategy and the knowledge gained from the Investment Readiness Programme.

The Investment Readiness Programme

The programme is available across the Black Country, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry, and provides SMEs with guidance on securing external funding. Investment Readiness covers various funding options, including debt finance, asset finance, grants, equity, and crowdfunding. It is designed to help start-ups and high-growth businesses secure investment and scale up by providing mentoring and support in developing investment pitches. Click here to join the programme or to find out more.