MoEa, the start-up that creates fruit-based sneakers

What if fruits and vegetables were to become the next queen raw materials in the textile sector? At just 28 years old, this is the challenge that Achille Gazagnes, CEO and co-founder of MoEa, set himself alongside his partner Benoit. The pairs of sneakers they put together have abandoned all traces of materials of animal origin, in favor of fibers extracted from fruit and plant waste. No more leather and bovine glue, make way for pineapple or cactus for these sneakers, made in Portugal.

Created in 2021, this young shoot has transformed what could be the recipe for a smoothie into trendy shoes, in order to produce sneakers whose environmental impact is less than that of a leather-based pair. This approach naturally imposed itself on Achille, who transformed his consumption habits a few years ago “By becoming a vegetarian and then a vegan, I wanted to create a brand that looked like me. The offer, in my time, was very limited,” he explains.

In 2019, in a show dedicated to fashion, he will meet an Italian engineer developing apple fiber. “I was looking for alternative materials, then I immersed myself in biomaterials that already existed, such as pineapple fiber,” he continues. Two years later, he will be at the head of MoEa, whose name is the contraction of “Mother Earth” (Mother Earth).

Red for the apple, green for the cactus or yellow for the pineapple, these sneakers whose fruit used corresponds to their color are the result of a complex manufacturing process. These materials are developed in collaboration with laboratories, each working on a different fruit. “Each material has its own manufacturing method. We're not going to make our shoes with just any fruit. You have to extract the fibers from the leaf and weave them like cotton, for fruits like bananas or pineapples,” explains Achille Gazagnes.

Indeed, MoEa wants fruit, but also quality. "The materials must be rich in fibers in order to make the pairs strong, robust and flexible," he continues. Laboratories being up to date on these methods are rare, and are mainly located abroad. “Three quarters of them are based in Italy. The laboratory working on the cactus is located in Mexico and gets its supplies from a farm dedicated to this plant, in Yucatán. Mushrooms are processed in Vietnam, and bananas in Malaysia,” he adds. These technologies are expensive, require investment in Research and Development, and do not generate any economies of scale for the moment.

Another challenge, the brand, which sold 40,000 pairs last year, has chosen to mainly develop in Europe. “We made 30% of our sales in France, 35% in Germany, 15% in the Benelux, then 10% and 5% in the United Kingdom and the United States. We remain a very European brand,” explains Achille. In fact, in order not to have to travel by plane, which is more polluting, MoEa favors road or sea transport. “To deliver our shoes mainly by truck, we are content with Europe. It's a complicated choice, but sending them on a massive plane wouldn't make sense. We are primarily focusing on this area for logistical reasons, but also to stay aligned with our vision of MoEa. For more distant countries like Malaysia or the United States, everything happens by boat,” he explains.

Faced with its competitors, MoEa is positioned as a brand of vegan streetwear sneakers, in the mid-range sneaker market, with a starting price of 139 euros. As it develops, the brand wants to offer cheaper sneakers “Eventually, we would like to offer a first price of 119 euros”. Without a fixed store, these fruit-based sneakers navigate through various points of sale with independent profiles, in the midst of industry giants such as Nike, Adidas, Converse and Puma.

However, Achille Gazagnes affirms that "if it's a hit, it's because our consumers, among whom 32% are vegan or vegetarian according to our online sales, remain sneaker lovers, but who are concerned about manufacturing processes. ". And for good reason, since a study on the average impact of MoEa shoes, carried out by the Sami agency (formerly Climate Plus) affirms that the use of pineapple fibers emits 69% less CO2 compared to a classic pair of sneakers, according to the brand's website.

“On average, we are between 5 and 7kg of CO2 per pair, compared to 20kg of CO2 for the market average”. For each material, the young start-up relies on transparency by making its impact studies available on its site, accessible to consumers, who are increasingly concerned about buying eco-responsible products. "Our shoes are aimed at all sneakerheads who care about sustainable development, whether they are vegan, vegetarian, or not," he continues.

Other names have made a name for themselves in the vegan sneaker market, such as Veja, one of the few competitors of MoEa, known for years for its commitment to producing shoes while "mixing social projects, justice economical and ecological materials", according to the brand's website: one Veja pair out of two is vegan. Faced with the development of eco-responsible shoes, Achille Gazagnes hopes to “turn the market upside down” by involving other brands with MoEa in the use of these biomaterials. The young start-up wishes, in the long term, to benefit from a fundraiser which would allow it to hire, as well as to propose the creation of a new pair from each used pair, although Achille Gazagnes considers that this objective is "impossible" at this time.