Greencovery raises €1M to scale cocoa waste into food ingredients
What's the deal? Dutch food-tech startup GreencoveryDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised €1 million in an early-stage round to move its cocoa upcycling technology into industrial production. The round drew backing from regional development agency ROM InWestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, existing shareholder Brightlands Venture PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and family office OterapDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The Wageningen-based company recovers three functional ingredients — cocoa fiber, cocoa extract, and cocoa soluble fiber — from cocoa processing side streams. It is working with a strategic partner to reach an initial capacity of 1,000 tons after validating its first commercial batches with customers.
Why now? The raise marks a shift from technology development toward commercial deployment. Greencovery has demonstrated its separation technology on coffee, oil press cakes, and nuts, but cocoa is its first major commercial application.
The scale-up is centered on North Holland, home to a substantial cocoa-processing industry. Zaandam remains an important location for the international cocoa trade.
The money: The €1 million is only the first stage. Greencovery is now closing an additional €3 million round to finance full-scale commercial manufacturing, with investor commitments already secured.
The company's pitch rests on extracting more value from materials existing food processors already generate, rather than building a new agricultural supply chain. It comes as cocoa manufacturers contend with volatile raw-material costs and rising demand for natural flavors and reduced sugar.
"We have proven our separation technology across coffee, oil press cakes, and nuts, but cocoa is where we are reaching commercial scale," said Carlos Cabrera, founder and managing director at Greencovery. He added that North Holland generates over 350,000 tons of food-grade side streams annually.
The signal: ROM InWest's role ties Greencovery to a regional industrial network as it pursues local upcycling. "Upcycling side streams into functional ingredients instead of incinerating or downcycling them directly supports a circular food system," said Bas Kalshoven, investment manager at ROM InWest.
Read more: proteinproductiontechnology.com
Image credit: EverJean
