BioFluff appoints Luke Henning as interim CEO to accelerate growth

BioFluff, the innovative plant-based fur alternative company, has named Circ co-founder Luke Henning as interim chief executive officer to “accelerate market growth” for the bio-materials start-up.

Henning, who has served as chairman of BioFluff's board for the past two years, will lead the company as it scales its commercial operations and accelerates market entry for its sustainable fur alternatives.

He brings extensive experience in sustainable materials, as he co-founded Circ, the textile-to-textile recycler, and served as its chief business officer. From 2013, Henning played an instrumental role in building the financial foundation and operational strategy underpinning Circ’s commercial success and global expansion.

In a statement, BioFluff, which offers innovative, sustainable, plant-based alternatives to animal-derived and plastic-based fabrics, said the appointment comes as the biomaterial company is focused on expanding its sales and distribution channels across fashion, interiors, and toys markets.

Commenting on the appointment, Henning said: "This is a critical moment for the industry. We're out of time when it comes to transitioning to sustainable materials, and BioFluff has developed solutions that are ready for market now.

“My focus is on accelerating the entry of these products so we can start making a real difference."

Bio-materials start-up BioFluff names new interim CEO and announces new investment round to scale production

BioFluff is looking to reimagine the fur, plush and comfort materials industries, and has a unique drop-in manufacturing model, which allows it to leverage existing mill capacity, primarily within Europe, rather than requiring significant capital expenditure for new facilities. This approach enables rapid scaling and positions the company to meet growing demand across multiple market segments without the lengthy construction timelines typical of novel materials ventures.

In December 2023, the bio-materials company launched Savian by BioFluff, a 100 percent plant plant-based, completely plastic and GMO-free material, offering the company’s first luxury natural material made in Italy, combining plant-based fibres, heritage craftsmanship and biotechnology. Savian is described as “a groundbreaking collection of fur, shearling, and fleece-like fabrics crafted from natural plant fibres developed using proprietary technologies” and utilises a process that “significantly reduces CO2 emissions”.

Alongside a new interim CEO, BioFluff also announced it was raising 2.5 million US dollars to scale production, expand its sales team, and build inventory for faster order fulfilment. The funding it adds will primarily support team growth and production expansion across BioFluff's three product lines, which serve luxury fashion, mass-market applications, including plush toys, interiors and home furnishings.

To support this growth phase, BioFluff also named three new strategic advisors to form an expanded advisory network to bring “deep expertise in biomaterials commercialisation, market expansion and development” to support BioFluff's scale-up journey. These advisors are: Matt Scullin, chief executive of MycoWorks; Chloe Reuter, co-founder of Reuter Communications; and Shashin Surti, co-founder of The Merido.

In 2023, BioFluff closed a 2.5 million US dollars seed fund round led by Astanor Ventures, which specialises in agrifood tech impact investing, following a pre-seed round in 2022, where it secured 0.5 million US dollars, led by SOSV, PDS Limited and Joyance Partners.