Members Calling #135 | Àngela Mancho: "We want to turn what is now waste into a resource"

Every year, we generate around 1 billion tonnes of organic waste worldwide, much of which ends up in landfills, wasted. But in nature itself – and in Barcelona’s innovative ecosystem – we have allies capable of helping us change this situation.

Àngela Mancho is passionate about challenges like this. With a degree in Law from ESADE and a career that has led her to projects combining the legal world with business management, she currently heads Phoenix Foods, a start-up that uses Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae to transform organic waste into animal feed and crop fertiliser.

“Outside of my professional life, I am interested in anything that involves learning and creativity. I like to read, I train in Brazilian jujitsu, I love coffee and art, and I enjoy surrounding myself with new challenges.”

 

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

AM: To accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable and circular food system, using the Black Soldier Fly to recover organic waste and transform it into high-value protein for animal feed and the production of natural fertilisers. We want to turn what is currently waste into a resource.

 

TB: What stage is the project at and where do you see it in two years?

AM: Right now we are in the growth phase: we already have our first industrial pilot plant up and running and collaborations with several companies in the agri-food sector. In two years’ time, I hope to be operating on an industrial scale in at least two more locations and scaling up our technology.

 

TB: What’s a good idea you’ve had.

AM: Taking the step of bringing in scientific profiles from day one, not as external consultants, but as partners. It has made a difference in the strength of the project.

 

TB: What has been your biggest challenge?

AM: Facing uncertainty and accepting it as a natural and permanent part of life.

 

TB: The best advice you’ve ever received.

AM: ‘The only constant is change.’ I see this every week. Both what seems like a huge problem today and what works perfectly can change in a matter of hours.

 

TB: A role model.

AM: Kees Aarts from Protix, for how he has managed to bring innovation in insects to an industrial scale with rigour and strategic vision.

 

TB: A technology that will shape the future.

AM: Biotechnology applied to circular systems. I believe that the future will be bio-manufactured: from alternative proteins to materials that decompose naturally.

 

TB: A start-up or company.

AM: Venvirotech. They convert organic waste into biodegradable bioplastics using bacteria. Real innovation with environmental impact.

 

TB: What helps you disconnect?

AM: Reading, having a good coffee with friends and training in Brazilian jujitsu.

 

TB: A book to recommend.

AM: ‘Seda’ by Alessandro Baricco. A short novel full of beauty.

 

TB: A series, film or song that defines your life at the moment.

AM: The song “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.

 

TB: A recipe, a restaurant.

AM: As a recipe, vegetable ramen with shiitake mushrooms and ginger. As a restaurant, Ramen-Ya Hiro. There’s always a queue, but it’s well worth it.

 

TB: A place in the world.

AM: Japan. For its combination of nature, technology and tradition.

 

TB: Where would you invest 100k?

AM: In Phoenix! The founding team has put money, time and energy into it from day one. And also in circular technologies; I think that’s where an important part of the future lies.

 

TB: If you weren’t an entrepreneur…

AM: I’d like to write chronicles or portraits of people.

 

TB: What does Tech Barcelona mean to you?

AM: A space for connection and a community of entrepreneurs from Barcelona with an international outlook.