Fermtech seed raise: £2.5m to scale Koji Cocoa via shell fermentation
This article covers Fermtech, an agtech startup, which has raised £2.5m in a seed funding round to scale production of Koji Cocoa™, a cocoa alternative made from cocoa shells. The funding is intended to ramp manufacturing and expand the startup's fermentation platform in the UK and abroad, supporting food and snack manufacturers and efforts to reduce reliance on conventional cocoa.
Fermtech, an agtech startup, has raised £2.5m in a seed funding round to scale production of Koji Cocoa™, a cocoa alternative made from cocoa shells. The funding will support ramping manufacturing and expanding the company’s fermentation platform in the UK and abroad — a move that matters as cocoa supply strains and manufacturers look for lower-cost, lower-carbon ingredient options.
Why it matters
Cocoa supply is under pressure from climate change and crop disease, contributing to an estimated 30% decline in yields and greater price volatility for manufacturers. Fermtech’s product targets that vulnerability by converting an existing byproduct into a usable ingredient. If the cost and emissions claims hold at scale — the company cites 25–33% input cost savings and up to 98% lower carbon emissions versus conventional cocoa — the product could offer food and snack manufacturers a way to reduce costs and greenhouse gas footprints without expanding farmland.
The global cocoa ingredients market is worth more than $27 billion, so even modest adoption could shift procurement strategies for large food companies and improve supply chain resilience.
Inside the product
Koji Cocoa™ is produced through solid-state fermentation of cocoa shells, the parts of the bean typically discarded after processing. The process aims to preserve natural cocoa flavour while breaking down indigestible components, producing a softer, nutritive ingredient that can substitute for traditional cocoa in formulations for chocolate and baked goods. Fermtech says manufacturers can maintain taste, colour and texture while reducing reliance on conventional cocoa.
The company reports early engagement with established players in the food and snacking industry, indicating product trials are under way. Those partnerships will be important proof points to validate the claimed cost savings and sensory performance at commercial scale.
Who are the investors?
Fermtech raised £2.5m in a seed funding round led by Elbow Beach, with participation from Carbon 13 and Empirical Ventures. The capital is earmarked for scaling production and supporting international commercialisation.
In the announcement, Jonathan Pollock, CEO at Elbow Beach, said:
Innovation in food has to be about great tasting, nutritious products, produced affordably. 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. Thanks to Elbow Beach and our investor partners, we’re excited to now be able to deploy Koji Cocoa™ with local and global partners, demonstrating its flavour, functionality, and cost benefits at scale. This is our next step to building a manufacturing and supply chain for cocoa and baking ingredients that is more resilient, secure, and lower carbon.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of agtech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of agtech angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
Andy Clayton, Fermtech’s CEO, frames the round as a move from development to commercial demonstration. The funding will be used to scale production capacity and prove the ingredient in real-world manufacturing settings, moves that the company says are necessary to convert pilot trials into repeatable supply agreements.
Fermtech positions Koji Cocoa™ as part of a circular approach to ingredient sourcing: using side streams from existing crops rather than expanding cultivation. Delivering on that promise will require successful industrial fermentation runs and adoption by ingredient formulators and brand owners.
The bigger picture
Fermtech’s raise sits at the intersection of food innovation and climate-driven agtech investment. Investors and manufacturers are increasingly interested in circular ingredients that reduce land use and emissions while improving cost stability. For the UK and Europe, technologies that add value to agricultural byproducts can help domestic processors and ingredient companies diversify supply chains.
As Fermtech moves from lab to manufacturing, its progress will be a useful case study for other startups exploring fermentation-based ingredients and for investors assessing how scalable such processes are at commercial volumes. The outcome will also feed into broader debates about how the food industry responds to climate stressors and supply risk across global commodity markets.
They've invested in Fermtech
Get to know these agtech investors
Click here for a full list of 7,526+ startup investors in the UK