Endless Food Co has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to advance its innovative chocolate alternative, THIC (This Isn’t Chocolate), aimed at tackling sustainability and supply chain issues in the chocolate industry.
The funding round was led by Nordic Foodtech VC, with participation from EIFO and Rockstart, and will enable the company to scale production, establish a pilot plant, and expand its team.
Endless Food Co’s THIC is made from ‘upcycled’ brewer’s spent grain, a primary byproduct of beer brewing, and serves as a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to traditional chocolate. Unlike cacao, which faces growing supply challenges due to climate change, THIC is positioned as a scalable solution that reduces reliance on cacao and addresses environmental and ethical concerns in the chocolate industry.
”Our core mission is to provide a delicious, long-term, and price-friendly solution for the existing chocolate and food industries. Hopefully one day, we can help coat every Mars bar with our alternative chocolate solution,” says Maximillian Bogenmann, Co-founder and CEO of Endless Food Co. “Until then, offering a flavour-first, sustainable alternative to chocolate on a large scale presents a huge opportunity to positively impact our existing food system. Partnering with a forward-thinking retailer like 7-Eleven gives us an amazing first step toward realising the Endless vision.”
Founded in 2022 by Maximillian Bogenmann, Christian Bach, and Matt Orlando, Endless Food Co leverages its founders’ culinary expertise from restaurants such as Noma and The Fat Duck. The company’s approach to scalable upcycling solutions highlights how sustainability and indulgence can potentially coexist, offering a solution to chocolate’s mounting challenges.
Endless Food Co has also announced a key commercial partnership with 7-Eleven Denmark to bring its product to market. The collaboration will initially feature a series of THIC-based products, including a co-branded cookie with TIM’s Cookies, available in all 180 Danish 7-Eleven locations by the end of the year.
Jesper Østergaard, CEO of 7-Eleven Denmark, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership: “7 – Eleven is constantly exploring new opportunities and challenging the traditional way of doing things. In our eyes, THIC is a truly exciting product because it’s a more sustainable alternative to chocolate – without compromising on great taste. We’re excited to offer our customers THIC in our cookies as early as next month – and without giving it all away , I’m quite sure they can look forward to more of this kind in our stores in the future.”
According to Endless Food Co, the traditional chocolate industry is under pressure, with cacao prices more than doubling over the past year due to climate-induced disruptions in the global supply chain. Additionally, the sector faces significant ethical and environmental issues, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, and labour exploitation.
THIC provides a potential solution, offering the same taste and texture as traditional chocolate but with up to 80-90% lower carbon emissions, according to a recent life cycle assessment.
“Endless Food Co is a great bet in the alternative cacao space. Their ingredients playbook aligns beautifully with our strategy around backing founders solving the deep underlying problems in our global food system: Cacao is a climate – threatened crop that will become more expensive as supply becomes scarcer and demand continues to increase,” says Louise Rørbæk Heiberg from Nordic Foodtech VC. “We are proud to support this high-powered and impactful team in their journey as they grow and expand, starting wi th this key partnership with 7-Eleven. And let’s be clear , they’ve nailed the taste and quality from the beginning.”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/12/copenhagen-based-endless-food-co-secures-e1-million-to-transform-the-chocolate-industry-with-sustainable-alternative/
