Piqué and Ibai Llanos lead €3.75M round in Spanish chocolate startup Plesh

What's the deal? Spanish chocolate snack startup PleshDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised €3.75 million in an early VC round led by former footballer Gerard Piqué and streamer Ibai Llanos. Both join the company as cofounders alongside original founders Jaume Betrian, Juan Umbert, and Adrià Colomines.

What does Plesh do? Founded in 2025, it makes chocolate snacks with no added sugar. The company sells through more than 3,000 retail points in Spain, including CarrefourDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, AlcampoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, BonpreuDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Ametller OrigenDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Cal Fruitós, plus outlets run by the Áreas group.

Who's backing it? This is Plesh's second round, following a €1 million raise that included basketball players Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernández, funds DemiumDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and BStartupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Boix-Bosch family behind Noel AlimentariaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and the founders of Incapto, Matcha & CoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Grup Confiteria. Piqué backed that first round too, but takes a bigger role now. YouTube figures and existing shareholders also joined the new round.

What's the endgame? Piqué and Llanos will take active roles in product, brand, content, and community decisions. The money funds expansion across Spanish retail and a planned international push.

Why these two? The pair bring complementary profiles: Llanos builds entertainment formats and activates large user communities, while Piqué has experience creating new products and business models as an entrepreneur and investor. "We're coming in to bring our experience, help accelerate its growth, and build a brand with potential to go well beyond Spain," Piqué said (translated from Spanish).

The signal: At €3.75 million, the round sits in the 63rd percentile for early VC deals by size — a solid but not outsized bet, with celebrity founders doubling as marketing engines for a consumer brand built on reach and community.

Read more: expansion.com

Image credit: molinolin