Compound Foods, a US-based food tech startup creating sustainable ingredients, has unveiled its innovative beanless coffee and cocoa ingredients platform.
Designed to mitigate risks in global supply chains, the platform offers brands functional and flavourful alternatives to traditional coffee and cocoa.
Also, the platform addresses the increasing instability in production due to supply shortages, climate pressures, and volatile prices.
It enables tighter margins, consistent supply, and reduced reformulation challenges, as consumer packaged goods leaders seek reliable alternatives.
The scalable solution with beanless ingredients replicates the taste, aroma, and performance of conventional coffee and cocoa, eliminating sourcing difficulties.
The process involves mapping the molecular compounds using underutilised ingredients like seeds, cereals, and fibres to create a whole-food base.
It also applies fermentation and roasting techniques to achieve the desired flavour profiles.
Compound founder and CEO Maricel Saenz said: “Coffee has always been an important part of my life. When I learned how vulnerable the supply chain really was, I felt compelled to ask: could we recreate the experience of coffee using more resilient ingredients, lower emissions, and food science?”
“Our goal isn’t to replace the speciality coffee or craft cacao we love.
“It’s to offer a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to the part of the industry that’s most vulnerable, commodity crops grown at scale, traded anonymously, and increasingly exposed to environmental and economic risk.”
The platform easily integrates into existing manufacturing processes, enabling food brands to incorporate beanless ingredients without incurring significant reformulation costs.
In blind taste tests conducted with Purdue University, 60% of participants preferred Compound’s coffee over premium brands such as Blue Bottle and Stumptown.
Initially focused on beanless coffee, the company accelerated the development of a cocoa-free alternative in response to the 2024 supply crisis.
The platform is designed for both performance and environmental impact, using less water and generating fewer carbon emissions compared to traditional coffee.
With most ingredients sourced and processed in the US, the platform reduces geopolitical and logistics risks associated with commodity markets.
Compound Foods has secured over $10m in funding, supported by investors including Collaborative Fund, FoodLabs, Lowercarbon Capital, and Ulu Ventures.
Compound Foods product head Swetha Mahadevan said: “We mapped over 800 compounds in coffee and built our formulation layer by layer.
“Our approach combines upcycling, domestic sourcing, and microbial science to deliver a product that tastes great and performs well.”
