Interview with Luca Wartna: Using Finance as a Strategic Driver of Growth and Impact.

As our Head of Finance, Luca Wartna leads the team to make strategic financial decisions. With nearly a decade of experience, guiding startups and scaleups through rapid growth, Luca sees finance not only as a control function, but as an enabler of innovation, trust, and speed. In this interview, Luca shares how strategic finance can accelerate progress for NoPalm Ingredients. 

Could you tell us about your professional background and the experiences that shaped your expertise before joining NoPalm Ingredients? 

“I’ve spent nearly a decade building finance functions for startups and scaleups. Before joining NoPalm Ingredients, I spent about 4,5 years at Springest, leading the finance and B2B services teams. I coached colleagues in productivity systems and helped manage the company’s successful exit to Studytube, which was an incredibly rewarding milestone. 

After that, I joined Quatt as Head of Finance, supporting the company’s growth from 30 to 350 employees in just 2,5 years. There, I focused on building financial systems that enabled data-driven decisions and sustainable growth. 

What I enjoy most about finance in a startup is the constant change and excitement. Every day brings new challenges that push you to collaborate closely with investors and teams. That’s exactly what drew me to NoPalm Ingredients: combining financial strategies with innovation and purpose." 

What is important for you in finding the right investors? 

“For me, finding the right investors is not just about financial alignment, but more about finding strategic partners who share our values and ambition. I look for investors who understand our mission and are genuinely excited about what we’re building. The best investors are those who believe in the team and challenge us to think bigger. Trust and a shared long-term vision matter more to me than a simple financial fit.” 

 From your perspective, what are the biggest financial challenges for NoPalm Ingredients and for biotech companies in general? 

“One of the biggest financial challenges for sustainability-driven companies, and biotech in particular, is achieving cost competitiveness. If we truly want to create large-scale impact, our products need to be priced at market level. I don’t believe in the concept of a ‘green premium’; sustainability shouldn’t make a product less accessible. In the end, price remains a key factor in every purchasing decision. 

I’ve seen this firsthand, that sustainability alone isn’t enough (unfortunately). When a customer decides to use our palm oil alternative, it’s likely just one of many ingredients in their formulation. If each of those came with a higher ‘sustainability markup,’ fully responsible sourcing would simply be out of reach. That’s why achieving cost parity while staying true to our sustainability goals is one of the key strategic drivers for NoPalm Ingredients.” 

What potential do you see in NoPalm Ingredients’ mission and trajectory? 

“As I mentioned before, sustainability alone isn’t enough if the economics don’t work. That’s our challenge, but also our biggest opportunity: we know how to reach cost competitiveness, and we’re fully committed to making it happen. 

Another major opportunity lies in our partnership model. We create real win–wins by using our partners’ by-products as feedstock and turning them into high-value ingredients. Co-locating next to their facilities eliminates transport costs and complexity, while offering financial and environmental benefits for both sides. A great example is our partnership with Milcobel, where we transform their whey permeate, a by-product of milk processing, into high-value fats. 

The ideal setup is when a partner not only supplies the feedstock but also integrates our ingredients into their own products, closing the loop within their value chain. It strengthens their circularity, helps them meet emission targets, and creates business value, all at once.” 

How do you build a high-performing finance culture in a startup environment? 

“In my view, finance is often seen as a controlling function; people want to move fast, and finance is there to check or approve. That can easily feel like a bottleneck. While in reality, finance can actually help move faster. 

I believe it’s about balance; knowing when to take control and when to give flexibility. In a fast-moving startup, you can’t (and shouldn’t) try to control every decision. The key is to design efficient processes that empower the right people to make the right financial decisions quickly. My role is to minimize risks and ensure compliance with laws and regulations. I also enable teams to take ownership of their budgets and spend responsibly. 

At NoPalm Ingredients, I already see a strong foundation for this kind of culture as teams are very aware of the financial impact of their work. I believe Lars’s strategic background has helped build this awareness across the company. That gives us a great base to keep strengthening a finance culture that supports both speed and sustainable growth.” 

Speaking of growth, what are exciting steps for NoPalm Ingredients in 2026? 

“The demo factory marks a major milestone, proving that NoPalm Ingredients can reliably deliver at an industrial scale: improving efficiency of the process, and proving the maturity of our technology.  

It’s also a significant financial step, reflecting the confidence and commitment behind our mission. I’m very confident we’re ready, not just technically, but as a team and as a business. This next chapter is exciting, it's where we can show the world what NoPalm Ingredients is capable of.”