Cocoa fermentation funding – summary
- Fermtech raises £2.5m seed funding to scale Koji Cocoa technology
- Koji Cocoa uses fermentation to unlock value from cocoa side streams
- Product delivers 25%-33% cost savings and up to 98% emissions reduction
- Process preserves cocoa flavour without extra farmland or compromising consumer trust
- Fermentation momentum signals resilient circular supply chains amid volatile cocoa markets
Cocoa is under pressure like never before, with supply issues and price shocks putting pressure on suppliers and manufacturers across food and beverage.
Now, fermentation is emerging as a credible route to futureproofing this vital commodity, promising to stretch existing crops further, without sacrificing flavour or consumer trust.
Using pioneering technology, UK-based Fermtech has found a way to maximise value from existing cocoa crops, creating what it calls Koji Cocoa.
According to the team, it delivers 25%-33% cost savings in chocolate and baked goods and achieves up to 98% lower carbon emissions - all without requiring additional farmland.
And investors are clearly onboard, as the firm has already raised £2.5m (€2.87m) in seed funding from companies including Elbow Beach, Carbon 13, and Empirical Ventures.
“Fermtech exemplifies the type of bold innovation we back – one that is commercially resilient and scalable while solving a real market problem," says Jonathan Pollock, CEO of Elbow Beach. “By significantly reducing input costs and improving supply chain resilience, Koji Cocoa supports adoption at scale.”
How it’s made
This new form of cocoa is made using side streams of the cocoa plant, such as cocoa shells, which are typically discarded.
The process, say Fermtech, preserves the natural flavours of cocoa while breaking down indigestible components into soft, nutritious ingredients.
“Innovation in food has to be about great tasting, nutritious products, produced affordably,” says Andy Clayton, CEO of Fermtech. “Fermtech has been committed from the start to extending the value we get from our crops, using the power of biology to unlock flavour and nutrition. This investment allows us to scale our production and get delicious foods into consumers hands.”
This development comes at a critical time for the cocoa industry, as prices remain volatile and manufacturers, including Nestlé and Mondelēz International are exploring alternatives. Although in one high-profile instance, alternatives have proved unpopular with consumers – Hershey has been forced to abandon its chocolate compound coating in favour of real chocolate, following backlash.
Fermtech says its already working with leading players in the global food and snacking industry, though it hasn’t named who these players are.
Cocoa’s future
The cocoa industry is shifting, with major implications for the manufacturers that rely on it.
If Fermtech’s technology scales as promised, it could give manufacturers a new ingredient option that doesn’t sacrifice taste or consumer trust. By working with cocoa rather than around it, fermentation-based solutions like Koji Cocoa may offer a more credible path forward.
More broadly, Fermtech’s progress signals growing momentum behind fermentation as a core industrial tool for food and beverage. From cocoa to coffee, grains and beyond, the ability to unlock flavour, nutrition and yield from side streams could reshape supply chains and accelerate the move towards circular production models.
For an industry facing climate constraints and consumer scrutiny in equal measure, that shift could mark the difference between short‑term fixes and long‑term resilience.
