AgTech Founders Interview

Interview with Jari Karlsson

CEO & Co-Founder, Happy Plant Protein · Helsinki, Finland · happyplantprotein.com
By Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com & AgFoodNews.com
April 2026
Hi Jari,
The Latvia facility is a story worth telling properly — industrial-scale plant protein, EU-funded, built on locally grown Baltic crops, with a patented process that asks almost nothing of the environment. That is not a press release. That is a milestone.

AgTechNews.com and AgFoodNews.com would like to feature Happy Plant Protein with a full editorial deep-dive. The piece will reach food manufacturers, agronomists, agricultural cooperatives, investors and agtech decision-makers across both platforms.

Below are 14 questions. Answer as much or as little as you like in writing, or we are happy to work through them on a call — whichever suits you best.

VISION & JOURNEY

1. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: You spun Happy Plant Protein out of VTT in 2024 with a technology that had been quietly developing inside one of Europe's most respected research centres. What made you believe this was the moment to take it commercial — and what did you see in the plant protein market that others were still missing?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

I felt this was the last real moment to commercialise something new in the plant protein space. The entire food industry using plant proteins has been struggling, taste, texture, and cost of the ingredients have either limited or even made it impossible to create products that consumers would widely accept.

I saw an opportunity here. The process is more sustainable and cost-efficient, and the end result - the protein itself, is simply better than what is currently available

2. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: The plant-based food industry has a credibility problem — first-generation products failed on taste, texture and price. Happy Plant Protein's whole-flour dry extrusion approach is positioned as the answer to all three. When did you realise the technology solved problems the market had been trying to fix for years, and how do you make that case to a food manufacturer who has already been burned?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

At first, we didn’t even realise that the technology would solve the taste and texture challenges. We only discovered the full benefits after running our first industrial-scale tests. That’s when we were able to further develop the technology.

Going directly from flour to textured protein is a major advantage for the food industry. I understand that companies today find it difficult to replace existing investments or reverse earlier decisions not to enter the plant protein business.

The upcoming Latvia facility is a strong example of how we can move closer to primary production and local raw materials. That changes also the evaluation criteria, including food security issues.

THE LATVIA FACILITY — WHAT THIS LAUNCH MEANS

3. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: The Latvia facility is the first industrial-scale deployment of Happy Plant Protein's technology. Walk us through what that actually looks like on the ground — what crops go in, what comes out, at what volume, and what it means for the local agricultural economy.

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

The Latvia facility is being built to fully support our process. It will include a mill that dehulls and mills the beans into flour, which then goes into extrusion. After extrusion, the material goes through optical colour sorting and is packed according to food industry needs.

In parallel, two fractions are created in our process: a protein fraction with protein level 60-65% and a carbohydrate fraction (pregelatinized starch with fibers and protein). Both are highly valuable ingredients.

In Latvia, the main raw material will be faba bean. Other raw materials include pea and oat. The technology itself allows the use of almost any legume.

4. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: You are processing locally grown faba beans, oats and peas in Latvia rather than importing raw materials from outside the region. In a world of increasingly fragile food supply chains, how significant is that local loop — and is the Latvia model something that can be replicated in other Baltic or Eastern European countries?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

The Latvia example will hopefully inspire other companies and countries all over the Europe to consider how to valorise primary production and low-cost raw materials into higher-value products.

We can always utilise local raw materials. The list is long - pea, chickpea, lentil, soy, and more.

5. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: The facility is EU-funded and developed with a local partner. What did EU support unlock that private capital alone could not — and what does the relationship with the local partner contribute beyond just a physical location?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

We see ourselves as a technology company. Our role is to develop the technology, the resulting end product, and continuously improve the process while expanding the raw material base, in close collaboration with our partners.

Partners like the one in Latvia make their own local decisions on how to finance the production facility and what kind of support they use. We see EU funding as an important enabler in projects like this, helping to accelerate the deployment of new, more sustainable production models.

At the same time, projects like this are developed together to ensure the technology is successfully implemented and optimised for local raw materials and conditions.

The ingredient business is the partner’s domain, while our role is to enable it through technology licensing and continuous development of the process.

THE TECHNOLOGY

6. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: No chemicals. Minimal water. No side streams. One patented step from flour to textured vegetable protein. For a food manufacturer who has lived with the complexity and cost of conventional wet fractionation — what does switching to your process actually change in their operation day to day?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

In this case, the food manufacturer already has extrusion equipment. The same equipment can be used for our process. Some minor investments are needed, and an optical sorting step is added.

However, all process steps are already familiar to the industry. The equipment is proven and well known.

7. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: You validated the process at 700 kilograms per hour with Bühler. There are more than 5,000 extrusion lines operating worldwide in the food industry. What percentage of those lines could implement your technology with minimal additional investment — and what is the conversion conversation like with an existing operator?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

I would hope that existing unused capacity could be utilised for this. At this moment, I cannot estimate how much of that capacity exists, or whether building a new production line is often the easier solution.

Many extrusion lines in the food industry are already running at close to 100% occupancy.

8. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: Taste and texture have been the graveyard of plant-based protein. Your sensory testing showed your faba bean texturate scores significantly better on bitterness and beany flavour compared to conventional products. Why does the flour-based approach solve a problem that isolate-based production has never been able to crack?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

In our process, separation and fractionation happen inside the extruder in a single step. Temperature also plays a role. There is simply no time for unwanted flavour changes to develop (oxidation and enzymatic changes).

One additional point compared to isolate-based products: since no chemicals are used, the salt content of our final product is practically zero.

BUSINESS MODEL & TRACTION

9. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: Happy Plant Protein licenses the technology rather than manufacturing the protein itself. You have a pilot customer in Switzerland and a German implementation underway. What does a licensing deal actually look like — who pays what, what do they get, and what does success look like for both sides at the end of year one?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

Collaboration starts from the raw material, identifying what kind of breakthrough protein ingredient we want to create. Together, we define the target for the end products.

We then optimise the process as close as possible to that target and implement the technology in the customer’s production facility. We provide training, support sales and commercialisation, and continue developing the technology further.

The partner pays an initial license fee and, in addition, a royalty based on production, aligned with jointly agreed targets (volume, commercial goals). In close co-operation between licensee and licensor

10. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: Mills, agricultural cooperatives and food manufacturers are three very different buyers with very different priorities. Which of those three is your primary commercial target right now — and where have you seen the fastest genuine interest?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

I belive that the greatest value is created close to primary production, where we can significantly increase the value of low-cost raw materials like flour. This also improves income opportunities at the beginning of the value chain.

These three customer groups are different, and their motivations differ. The closer we are to primary production, the more the customer must consider whether they want to enter the protein ingredient business and whether they have the resources and capabilities to do so.

For food manufacturers, the key question is whether our process provides a competitive advantage in the market in form of ingredient or more cost-effective process.

We are still a startup with limited resources. We cannot do everything or serve everyone yet. At this stage, we are focusing on ingredient companies and nearby agri-food players.

11. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: When a mill or cooperative discovers Happy Plant Protein — what does that discovery path look like today? Are they finding you through trade press, events, direct outreach, or word of mouth from the food industry — and where are the gaps?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

I have a commercial background myself, so I understand the importance of marketing and communication. We want to communicate broadly, focusing more on benefits than on the technology itself.

We have gained good visibility through media, startup events, and industry events. People find us and reach out to us.

At the moment, we are essentially serving those who have already discovered our story and contacted us.

MARKETS & EXPANSION

12. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: The technology is designed for local production everywhere — Europe, North America, Asia, Africa. Where do you expect the first significant commercial traction outside Finland and the Baltic region — and what is the specific condition that needs to be met before you enter each new market?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

Europe is naturally close to us, and that’s where we are expanding in the near term.

To expand further, especially to other continents - we need more resources, both funding and people. We already have ongoing discussions, for example in North America.

FUNDING, TALENT & WHAT THE INDUSTRY NEEDS

13. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: You raised EUR 1.8 million in pre-seed from Nordic Foodtech VC, Butterfly Ventures and Business Finland. The Latvia facility adds EU funding to that picture. What does the next round look like — what milestones need to be in place, and what kind of investor understands the licensing model well enough to be genuinely useful beyond the capital?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

Our seed funding round is still open. We are raising funds (2 million euros) specifically to scale the business.

We are very close to achieving commercial proof-of-concept, which validates many of the previously open questions.

At this stage, we need investors who believe in our vision, mission, and the founding team. Our team is me, CTO Pekka who came from VTT and CPO Elli, who has the food industry R&D backgroud. Perfect team :D

To clarify: EU funding is financing our Latvian partner’s facility, not directly Happy Plant Protein.

CLOSING

14. Niranjan Minase – AgTechNews.com: For a mill owner, agricultural cooperative manager or food manufacturer reading this story today — what would you want them to walk away thinking about Happy Plant Protein, and what is the best next step for them to take right now?

Jari - CEO - Happy Plant Protein:

If your company has been considering entering or expanding in plant protein, there is no longer a reason to consider other processing options.

In terms of cost, investment level, scalability, and sustainability, our process is the best on the market.

That said, I don’t claim this technology replaces isolate-based products. It doesn’t. But it is clearly the best way to start local protein production.

Beyond individual business cases, our goal is to enable regional protein self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on imported raw materials.

TAGS: Plant Protein Faba Bean Dry Extrusion TVP Food Security EU Agriculture Latvia Finland VTT Startup Funding Licensing Bühler Nordic Foodtech VC Sustainability Industrial Scale

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