Meet the Entrepreneur: Sven Jan Correia

Q: Sven, could you introduce yourself and your company?

A: Hello, my name is Sven Correia, I am 24 years old and I am currently living in Tilburg. I am
from Luxembourg but from my mom’s side I have origins in the Netherlands and from my
Dad’s side from Portugal. Friends here in Tilburg used to call me “Mr. Worldwide” because of
my origins, the fact that I speak six different languages, and also maybe because I look a little
bit like Pitbull without my hair.

I am graduating with a bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation in June 2024. During my 6th semester of this bachelor, I decided to officially start the company “myTofu"  and registered at the KVK on the 9th of February 2023. I have been working on this idea since October 2021 but 2023 is the year where the idea became a real startup. With myTofu, I started a tofu production company. The idea is to use organic soybeans from the Netherlands to produce tofu that is flavored with natural ingredients such as vegetables and spices to enhance the flavor naturally. Like this, you have a ready-to-cook, healthy, and
vegan meat substituted right out of the packaging.

Q:  What/who inspired you to do business?

A: In 2020, during the pandemic, I started thinking more critically about meat consumption. After watching some documentaries such as “Cowspiracy," “Game Changers," and “A Life on Our Planet” I realized that I should start educating myself about this topic. So, I decided to drastically reduce my meat consumption and stop buying meat in the supermarket. This of course was a huge change and I had to start becoming more creative in the kitchen. Luckily, during this time, meat substitutes began to show up more and more on the shelves of supermarkets which facilitated the transition to a more plant-based diet. 

However, eating fake meat didn’t feel right. I started using tofu on a more regular basis and immediately encountered the main problem with this natural meat substitute. Cooking is difficult, making it tasty takes time and the consistency was not always to my liking. So, in 2021, I started to look into how I would solve this. In my eyes, the solution was very simple. When I am cooking, I use all kinds of vegetables and spices to make my dishes tastier. So, why don’t I try to infuse the taste of nature during the production process of tofu and enhance the flavor like this? I answered this question in October of 2021 when I produced tofu infused with onions in my student kitchen which I refer to as the starting point of myTofu. 

Q: What is the most important lesson you learned as an entrepreneur? 

A: The most important lesson I learned so far on my journey as an entrepreneur is consistency. In my opinion, being consistent is key not only in business but also in other aspects of life. Furthermore, the ability to come up with creative solutions for unexpected problems is a crucial skill for an entrepreneur. Building a network with like-minded people in the industry that you are operating in is also important and helped me a lot in the beginning. 

Finally, I learned how to manage a team and delegate tasks to other people who have the skills that I do not possess myself. I want to take this opportunity to thank Dolf van Delft and Anco Goorhuis for their dedication to this company. Without them, myTofu would not be where it is today. I am looking forward to growing this company into something special together with them!

Q: What is the biggest challenge you have encountered while starting a business in the food industry?

A: There were several big challenges. The first one was the search for a production location. This took me almost 2 months. Then, once I found the facility in Eindhoven, setting up everything to start producing was a completely different challenge. The equipment in a kitchen is very expensive and with limited funds, this was a big challenge to overcome. Also, making the right decisions on which machines to buy, was no easy task. 

However, probably the biggest one was the search for a sales channel that works to start covering our costs and breaking even. This challenge was partially overcome in October 2023 with the stand on the Saturday market in the city center of Tilburg. With this new sales channel, we now have consistent revenue, and we expect to officially break even in November 2023. Entering the food industry was never going to be easy. However, I believe, that creating the best product possible will lead to a successful and competitive business. Currently, each production, the product is still improving and the people who purchase our products give us some amazing and positive feedback.  

Q:  What steps are you taking to make your business a sustainable one? 

A: myTofu uses organic soybeans from the Netherlands to produce the tofu. This makes it a very local product and reduces the emissions and negative impacts associated with soybean farming and exporting from, for example, Brazil or other countries. 

With myTofu, we try to help the plant-based protein transition to reduce the impact on the environment due to the excessive meat consumption. I believe, that it is important to question where your meat is coming from and look into implementing some plant-based proteins into your diet to stop contributing to the animal cruelty and polluting meat industry.  Furthermore, we are currently working on different products with the by-product of the tofu production called okara. With okara, you can make all kinds of stuff and we want to try and utilize this to first of all reduce waste and contribute to a circular economy.  

With myTofu, we try to help the plant-based protein transition to reduce the impact on the environment due to the excessive meat consumption Sven 

Q: What's the funniest or most memorable mistake you've made as an entrepreneur, and what did you learn from it?

A: There have been several mistakes that I have made over the course of the last few months. Here is my favorite story:

In the beginning, the small-scale production line from China did not work in the production facility due to electrical problems. So, we decided to buy a different machine from Marktplaats since we needed to start producing tofu as soon as possible. There was a 200L heating kettle available on the website for only 300€ which could work as a replacement. So, one day, Dolf and I drove all the way to the north of the Netherlands with a trailer to pick up this humongous kettle. It was very sketchy, to say the least. It almost didn’t fit on the trailer; it was very dirty and didn’t look good. However, we were desperate. So, we bought it. Then, when we arrived back at the production facility, we tried to set it up and realized that the kettle was operated with gas, and we did not have a gas connection in the facility. So, we bought a useless machine for 300€ for nothing. 

This story does have a happy ending though. After all the stress, we cleaned the machine to make it look like new, set it up for sale on Marktplaats, and sold it for 500€. A nice 200€ profit at that time. To top it off, I got the small-scale production line from China up and running which is now the star of the production facility. So, to conclude, taking your time in the decision-making process is very important in order to avoid very costly mistakes.  

Curious to try myTofu yourself one time? You can find Sven and myTofu on the Saturday market at Koningsplein, Tilburg. Or you can visit the webshop and order yourTofu!