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LOOP Biotech
What if death could give back to nature instead of taking from it?
The story of Orange Wings
& Loop Biotech
At Orange Wings, we don’t take reckless risks—we identify companies that can change industries. The ones others overlook because they challenge the status quo. But we don’t just invest—we work side by side, through late-night strategy calls, marketing pivots, and spreadsheets filled with tough decisions. That’s why we backed Loop Biotech, a company transforming an industry no one thought could change: funerals.
Chapter 1
The spark
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 1
From radical
idea to reality
The funeral industry is stuck in the past. Traditional coffins take decades to decompose, while cremation releases hundreds of kilograms of CO2. It’s a system designed for permanence—when what the world actually needs is regeneration.
In 2020, Bob Hendrikx wasn’t thinking about funerals. He was thinking about mycelium—nature’s great recycler. “92% of all plants on Earth depend on mycelium for survival,” he recalls. The more he studied it, the more he wondered: If mycelium exists to break things down and give life back to the earth, why aren’t we using it more intentionally?
And then it hit him: a coffin.
At first, it sounded absurd—even to him. “I remember feeling so insecure about it. The funeral industry seemed like such a scary world to me, and I really didn’t want to get into it.” His friends joked, “Bob, the funeral entrepreneur—haha.” But the more he sat with the idea, the more he realized its power.
That moment of realization wasn’t just his. Lonneke Westhoff, an environmental engineer and designer, immediately saw the potential. She shared his belief that death should give back to life and pushed to turn this idea into something real.
Still, an idea is just an idea—until someone takes a chance on it. So he printed out flyers, walked into a local funeral home, and asked if they’d offer his mushroom coffin. It wasn’t even a finished product—just a prototype. But one week later, while still living at his parents’ house, he got a call:
“Bob, I sold it.”
Backing the brave:
more than just capital
When Loop Biotech came to Orange Wings, they weren’t just looking for funding. They needed expertise—the kind that turns a radical idea into an unstoppable business.
Between 2022 and 2023 we invested €1.5 million, taking a significant stake in the company. But that was just the beginning. Together, we raised another €2 million in just two weeks, scaling their production capacity to 500+ coffins a month and expanding internationally.
But growth isn’t just about more funding. It’s about making the right decisions—especially the hard ones.
Loop faced challenges they hadn’t anticipated. Scaling mycelium growth at production levels proved far more complex than their early prototypes. “We thought we could just scale up production, but on this scale, mycelium doesn’t behave linearly. We had to figure everything out—there was no protocol for what we were doing.” Regulations were an uphill battle. And the hardest part? Hiring the right people.
“It was painful. But necessary.” Some early hires weren’t the right fit for the company’s next phase. Letting them go was brutal. “Bravery isn’t just about starting something. It’s about knowing when to change.”
“Bravery isn’t just about starting something. It’s about knowing when to change.”
Chapter 2
The leap
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 2
The Orange Wings Investment factor:
smart risks, hard truths, big wins
Shawn Harris of Orange Wings doesn’t believe in passive investment. She believes in high-impact, hands-on partnership. She doesn’t tell founders what they want to hear—she tells them what they need to know.
Bob and Lonneke quickly learned that growth wasn’t just about working harder. It was about working smarter. They invested €20,000 in Dutch sales staff—but the approach didn’t land as expected. It wasn’t a question of demand, but of direction. When they shifted focus to international distributors? Boom. The UK deal alone unlocked access to 70 million people.
“Shawn saw it before we did. We were thinking small. She forced us to think bigger.”
Bob Hendrikx
Founder
At Orange Wings, we don’t just write checks. We sit at the table. We challenge, strategize, and push companies beyond what they thought was possible.
And that kind of support? It matters. “Honestly, we wouldn’t always be able to afford this level of help,” Bob admits. “But we can just call Lisette and say, ‘Hey, can you quickly look at this contract?’ And she’ll immediately tell us, ‘Watch out for this clause’ or ‘No, this looks good.’ That kind of support is invaluable.”
Back and forth
between Loop Biotech
and Shawn:
and Shawn:
When Loop Biotech first connected with Orange Wings, founders Bob and Lonneke were navigating the leap from start-up to scale-up. They had built the company from the ground up—but scaling up? That was new ground. As the company grew, so did the stakes. More complexity. Bigger decisions. And through it all, a constant back-and-forth with Orange Wings. Strategy, reflection, action – on repeat.
That’s where the partnership with Shawn Harris stands out. Shawn doesn’t sugarcoat. She listens, questions, and delivers the kind of honest feedback most investors won’t. Her hands-on approach didn’t just support Loop, it actively shaped its trajectory.
At first, Bob and Lonneke weren’t sure what to expect. They’d built Loop Biotech from the ground up, but scaling up? That was uncharted territory. The bigger the company grew, the more complex the problems became.
“At a small
scale, it worked perfectly. Then we
increased production
and suddenly—
nothing behaved
the same way.”
“Yeah, but no one’s
done this before.
There’s no manual
for growing
mycelium at
this scale.”
"We thought we
had it figured out.
Then we scaled up,
and everything
changed."
“Welcome to real business. You’re
not just inventors
anymore. You’re
builders. You’re
leaders. And that
means learning
how to navigate
when the map
doesn’t exist.”
“Then you write it.
That’s what
being first means.
No one gives you
the answers—you
figure them out.”
Chapter 3
The flight
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
The real world impact:
from prototype to legacy
Convincing funeral directors and customers wasn’t easy. “We had to flyer at funeral homes to get someone to take a chance on our prototype,” Bob remembers. The turning point? A real burial. They knew the media wouldn’t cover a concept—so they made sure the first Loop coffin went into the ground, press-ready. That’s how they landed on CNN.
And then, the stories started rolling in. Families reached out, saying how much it meant that their loved ones could give back to the earth. One of the first customers wrote to them: “My father would have loved this. He wanted to be buried in a way that gave back.”
Chapter 4
The legacy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Rewriting the industry
Loop Biotech isn’t just selling coffins. They’re reshaping the entire industry.
And Orange Wings is in it for the long game. Shawn Harris sits on the board, ensuring Loop keeps pushing forward, making the right moves, and staying ahead of the curve.
“The funeral industry doesn’t like change. But nature does.
That’s the difference.”
Bravery pays
Loop Biotech’s vision isn’t just about greener funerals. It’s about shifting how we think about life, death, and legacy. It’s about proving that a company can be both profitable and regenerative.
At Orange Wings, we don’t invest in comfort. We invest in transformation. We back the companies that others hesitate on—because we know real change demands it.
Because if you want to rewrite an industry, bravery isn’t a choice. It’s a requirement. And we’ll be there, wings wide open, making sure those bold enough to try can actually take flight.
Next chapter for Loop Biotech & Orange Wings Investments
And we’ve just gotten started: we are poised for significant growth. In February 2024 Loop Biotech launched a crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise €2 million, with shares available from €250, making investment accessible to a broad audience. This funding will support Loop’s expansion into the United Kingdom, where our products are now readily available nationwide, thanks to partnerships with funeral distributors such as JC Atkinsons.
We continue to bring our vision to life thorough new innovations in both products and materials, not only offering eco-friendly funeral options but also contributing positively to the environment, reflecting our mission to restore our balance with nature.
To be continued