Today we talk to María García and Sara Urrejola, co-founders and CEOs of the startup Lākō Foods, in which they create healthy alternatives in food through innovation and technology. With them we talk about innovation in a sector as traditional as the food industry.
What is the main objective of Lākō Foods?
María García: We are currently focused on the problem of overconsumption of empty sugars and the lack of nutritional alternatives that we find in the market. That is why our first product is a date sweetener that maintains all the properties of the fruit and at the same time is very easy to use in other products as an ingredient, because it is soluble in both hot and cold liquids.
How is the process of launching a new product in a sector such as food?
Sara Urrejola: First, people have to understand the problem, there are people who do not even understand it or do not have that level of knowledge about nutrition.
And secondly, of course, since it is a product that goes inside another product, it has to comply with certain characteristics so that it adapts to that formulation, to comply with the amount of sweetness, etc., and that everything fits and imitates the previous product a little so that it does not show too much change or is not something very radical.
And well, it does have its complications, but you keep trying and in the end you will have to change several things and you will always improve.
María García, Felipe Rebollo and Sara Urrejola.
What is the administrative process for validating a new ingredient?
MG: In our case it is complicated because there are only the two of us and a food technologist and then we are from the general managers to the interns in this case.
So, it is true that it is complicated, but with good organization it is possible. I think that, if you really create a strategy based on good technologies, good innovations, you get to work quite efficiently. And with a lot of perseverance and a lot of effort you reach your objectives.
And a very important part for us is also the collaborations we have and delegating those parts and not trying to cover everything ourselves. For example, right now we are working with a laboratory that is in charge of developing and perfecting the final product for market launch.
Therefore, delegating all these types of tasks to professionals who are specialized in each area means that we can be much more productive and have much more perfect results.
You come from Food 4 Future, how was the experience?
SU: Going to Food 4 Future is always a great experience, that is, every year you are surprised because, yes, we do a previous work to know who is going to go and what they do and so on, but there are always things that catch you a little by surprise and the truth is that there is a lot of innovation. We have clearly seen a trend towards healthy, vegan products, but that has been going on for a few years now and we have found people who fit in a little bit with the companies we are looking for.
What are the projects you are working on?
MG: Right now we are preparing the market launch of this product, we are giving the final touches to make it as perfect as possible and preparing a commercial strategy to start with this sale and at the same time we like to keep innovating and creating always to keep growing.
We are trying to find a new product that fits the problems we are trying to solve, that has the technological component that we like so much and that is really a good and healthy product.
Is there support for companies that create new products that focus on health?
SU: At the public level, I don’t know, because in the end we always have a bit of a mindset of pulling our own chestnuts out of the fire, we don’t ask for help the first time.
So we have felt very supported by the community and by people from companies and startups that in the end start like you, live the same process and are always super open to teach you, “hey, at this stage I did this or this happened to me, I made a mistake, don’t do it because so and so”. We have received a lot of that kind of support, yes we have received public support, but I don’t know. We have received support, but I think we have received more support from other places.
MG: Yes, I think it is a pretty good community in which we surround ourselves, so we are very well and very happy and it is true that we start with a very big difficulty and that is that we are very young. So, obviously, apart from our inexperience and the fact that we are learning little by little, we are also learning not to be taken too seriously many times, etcetera.
SU: And not having some savings from before.
MG: Yes, we have faced difficulties, I don’t know how to measure the support we have had, but we are very motivated and happy with what we have and with what we have.
How important is collaboration in introducing new things?
SU: We may know a little bit what path we want to take, but we are not experts in everything, nor do we have to be, because in the end you end up wasting time.
Then, it is also smart to know which parts you want to delegate and to whom. Well, people that you trust, that you have to delegate and that you really delegate, that you don’t have to be aware of, and for that we also look a lot at sites that recommend us from other people who have had an experience. But yes, we value it very much and in fact not only in this process, but in others we also collaborate a lot.
What are your next steps?
MG: As we said, it’s about letting the product out of our hands and letting more people try it, receiving a lot of feedback, keep improving, keep creating and also keep growing as much as we can or at least learning.
