Carlos is an agricultural engineer from the UPV and was recognised in 2016 as its First Outstanding Alumni. He has dedicated his professional career to food and population security through innovation in a sector as traditional and immobile as agriculture. Concerned about the environment and the sustainability of the planet, he invests his time and resources in research to try to leave a better world for the next generations.

An agronomist with a passion for food safety, he founded Idai Nature in 2009 as a family business. In 2017, Carlos received the Best National Entrepreneur Award for his work with Idai Nature. Recently, after the acquisition of Idai Nature, Carlos launched Veganic®, which he considers his most significant project and legacy in the agricultural sector. He is a humble person, who highlights the importance of values as a fundamental pillar in his life, a model that he has extrapolated to his company creating a team with principles and ethics above professional skills.

Q1: What have been some of the most significant developments at Veganic over the past year since our conversation in June 2024, whether in technology, partnerships or market reach?

This past year has been truly transformative for Veganic. We have made bold moves in international expansion, opening subsidiaries in Mexico and Argentina. We are actively working to establish a direct presence in Chile, India and Brazil. One of the most defining achievements has been the creation of our microbial strain bank—a proprietary ceparium that is officially registered with the prestigious Spanish Type Culture Collection (CECT). This gives Veganic a unique biotechnological asset: a curated and exclusive repository of high performance microorganisms capable of restructuring soil health and significantly improving nutrient efficiency. This initiative is the foundation of our next generation biologicals and a reflection of our deep scientific commitment to regenerative agriculture.

Building on this, we launched MicroGea, our advanced microbial technology platform. MicroGea is not just a product, it is a new paradigm in biofertilization. It leverages our own strains to restore biological functionality to the soil, enhance plant nutrition naturally and reduce dependency on chemical inputs. This development places us at the heart of the Green Deal and Farm to Fork objectives, offering real tools to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture.

In bioprotection, we expanded our portfolio with two highly specialized innovations: BELVINE, designed for the control of fungal disease in vineyards, and ZEONIX, a bioinsecticide that responds to the demands of intensive horticulture. Both are fully aligned with global efforts to transition toward residue-free, sustainable crop management.

We have also reinforced our technical and scientific capabilities by transforming Naturalia into our core field validation center, where we conduct on-site trials and demonstration projects. In parallel, our integration into AgrotecUV, the agricultural technology incubator of the University of Valencia, has opened new opportunities to accelerate our R&D. AgrotecUV is located within the university’s Science and Technology Park and is a hub for transferring cutting-edge research into practical, scalable agricultural solutions.

Commercially, we entered key markets such as India, Poland, Türkiye, France and Italy solidifying our truly global footprint and confirming that biological innovation knows no borders.

Q2: Veganic champions residue-free, plant-based solutions. How is the company addressing the practical challenges farmers face in adopting these alternatives at scale?

We believe that agriculture must evolve beyond chemical dependency—not only for environmental reasons but to empower farmers to build more resilient and profitable systems. We are fully aligned with the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies, which call for a significant reduction in the use of synthetic inputs. But for us, it is not just about meeting regulatory goals. It is about transforming the way we understand and support agriculture.

We deeply respect and honor the work of farmers. They are the backbone of the food system, and they deserve tools that are not only sustainable, but also effective, reliable and economically viable. That is why we take a comprehensive, farmer-first approach. We accompany producers from field validation to agronomic training, ensuring that our biological solutions integrate smoothly into existing crop management programs and deliver consistent results under real-world conditions.

Our bio-inputs are designed with practicality in mind: stable, compatible and performance-proven. And beyond the technical dimension, we advocate for a new agricultural ethic, one that values not only soil and plant health, but also the dignity, intelligence and responsibility of the grower.

In this sense, Veganic is not just offering alternatives to chemical inputs, we are building a new agricultural model—more efficient, more responsible and truly aligned with the future of food and the people who make it possible.

Q3: The global regulatory landscape around biologicals is shifting. How is Veganic navigating compliance while staying agile and innovative?

At Veganic, we see regulation not as a limitation, but as a necessary driver for building a better, more transparent agricultural system. We have developed a proactive and adaptive regulatory strategy working closely with local experts in each market, staying ahead of evolving legislation and actively participating in international technical forums.

But beyond compliance, we believe it is time to raise the bar. In today’s world, organic is not enough. Agriculture and society are demanding more. More ethics, more efficiency, more responsibility, more sustainability and more consciousness in how we grow our food. That is why at Veganic, we go further. We are committed to developing products that are not only residue-free, but also cruelty-free, vegan and aligned with a broader set of values that respect life in all its forms.

We design our solutions from day one to meet the highest standards of quality, traceability and environmental stewardship. This allows us to respond with agility to regulatory demands while building deep trust across the value chain from institutions to distributors to farmers and consumers.

Ultimately, our goal is to help lead a new agricultural paradigm. One that goes beyond sustainability and actively regenerates ecosystems while honoring the ethical and social dimensions of farming.

Q4: As the BioAg space becomes more data-driven, how is Veganic incorporating digital tools or analytics into its product development or field validation efforts?

Digitalization is one of our strategic priorities. At Veganic, we are implementing field monitoring tools, traceability systems and advanced agronomic analytics to objectively evaluate the performance of our products. At our Naturalia trial center, we use proprietary digital-supported protocols that allow us to collect real-time data and make more informed decisions in R&D.

We are also developing predictive models to fine-tune dosages, application timings and treatment frequencies, increasing both effectiveness and return on investment for farmers. Looking ahead, integration with digital agriculture platforms will be key to scaling our solutions in a smart and efficient way.

Q5: Collaboration is key in a rapidly evolving sector like BioAg. Are there any strategic alliances or industry partnerships you have formed recently or considering that you see as game-changers?

Absolutely. At Veganic, we strongly believe that the future of agriculture will be shaped through open innovation and meaningful collaboration. One of the most strategic partnerships we have formed is with AgrotecUV the agri-food innovation incubator of the University of Valencia, located within its Science and Technology Park.

AgrotecUV is a hub where scientific knowledge meets real-world application. Its mission is to accelerate the creation and transfer of agri-food technologies through collaboration between academia, startups and companies committed to sustainability. For Veganic, being part of this ecosystem means having direct access to cutting-edge research, talent and infrastructure that strengthen our R&D capabilities and bring our biological innovations to market faster and more efficiently.

In parallel, we are also forging alliances with specialized distributors in key geographies, ensuring our solutions are adapted to local agronomic and regulatory realities. Just as importantly, we are actively exploring synergies with ag-tech companies to integrate biological inputs with digital technologies, unlocking new possibilities in precision agriculture and smart decision-making.

These collaborations are not just tactical. They are strategic foundations for building the next era of agriculture: one that is science-based, regenerative and farmer-centered.

Q6: What is next for Veganic? Are there upcoming launches, initiatives or ambitions you are particularly excited to share?

We are entering a phase of strong growth and innovation. One of our most exciting milestones is the opening of our new laboratory at AgrotecUV. This facility will enable us to accelerate the development of new biological products, conduct more advanced research, and reinforce our validation processes with scientific support from within the University of Valencia’s Science and Technology Park, a space where real science and technology are born and transferred to industry.

In parallel, we are preparing the launch of several new products over the coming months—innovations in bioprotection, biofertilization and biostimulation—each designed to address key agronomic challenges with maximum efficiency, zero residues, and full alignment with the goals of the Green Deal and Farm to Fork.

We are also investing in the continuous development of Naturalia, our own experimental farm, where we are actively expanding the number and scope of product trials not only for internal innovations but also in collaboration with external partners. We aim to make Naturalia a true reference site for biological field validation under real-world conditions.

What lies ahead is a period of technological consolidation, scientific excellence and international expansion with one clear mission: to deliver cutting-edge, ethical and highly effective plant biotechnology to farmers who are ready to lead the change.