Foodtech firm Win-Win, which produces cocoa-free alternatives to chocolate, has raised £3m as part of a Series A funding round.
The funding came from investors including Oetker Collection, Foodlabs, Mustard Seed Maze, Gota Ventures, Paulig, and Kapital, and brings the total raised to date to £8m.
The latest cash injection will further fuel Win-Win’s growth in the UK with investment in people and new product lines as well as expansion into major European markets, including Germany, Benelux, the Nordics, France, and Switzerland.
Win-Win produces a range of chocolate alternatives including White, Milk, Vegan ‘M.lk’ and Dark couvertures and compounds. These, it said, are made from ‘abundant, affordable and sustainable ingredients’ including rice and carob via ‘traditional chocolate crafting techniques’ such as roasting, grinding, refining, and tempering.
The firm adds that the resultant ingredient, which melts and snaps like chocolate, can be used as a direct replacement in sweet treats such as pastries, cakes, cookies, coatings, doughnuts, and more.
Win-Win CEO Mark Golder said the funding round provides the firm with “extra resources to continue on our mission and deliver a sustainable and affordable alternative to chocolate”.
It has also recently announced a major DACH distribution partnership with Martin Braun Backmittel und Essenzen KG, part of Martin Braun-Gruppe.
It comes at a time when cocoa prices have been rising rapidly due to a volatile combination of factors including severe supply challenges in West Africa and outbreaks of black pod disease.
“Climate change is leading to reduced yields, causing spiralling prices and supply-chain uncertainty,” Golder added. “As consumers, we’re already seeing the impact of this in the form of rising prices and shrinkflation, and the cacao industry continues to be troubled by issues relating to deforestation. The industry is at an inflection point and needs alternative solutions that are stable and more environmentally and socially sustainable.”
This means chocolate’s dominance in bakery is being challenged as manufacturers look for alternatives or, where possible, reduce the amount of chocolate in products.
Several cocoa replacers have hit the market in recent years, with Win-Win’s solution among them which Golder said was made via a “patented breakthrough technology to deliver a cocoa-free alternative to chocolate that doesn’t compromise on appearance, taste or usage”.
“We now have an incredible portfolio of chocolate alternative products, and this investment will help us to give manufacturers, food service providers and other businesses that use chocolate a delicious alternative that is better for both the planet and its people,” he added.
Other options available include Agrain’s Cocoa Replacement made from brewers’ spent grain containing malt as well as cocoa husks, ChoViva made from sunflower seeds, Prova Gourmet Natural Cocoa Flavouring, and coating alternative Chocuise from Dawn Foods which is available in white, milk, or dark to name a few.
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