Planet A Foods Receives $30M Series B Funding to Scale Sustainable Chocolate Production

Planet A Foods, a Munich-based B2B food tech startup, has secured a $30 million Series B funding round to support its efforts in turning sunflower seeds into a sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate alternative called ChoViva. This comes after the company's $15.4 million Series A funding round earlier this year. With plans to ramp up production capacity by 7.5 times, the startup aims to increase its annual production from 2,000 tons to over 15,000 tons.

Expanding beyond its initial European markets, the company intends to establish its first U.S.-based production facility and launch its chocolate substitute in the U.K. and France by the first quarter of 2025. The startup already counts major European food manufacturers and some U.S. brands among its 20 customers, with ambitions to add more strategic partners as it grows its capacity. By replacing traditional cocoa-based chocolate with its sustainable alternative,

Planet A Foods seeks to address the environmental impact of cocoa production, offering a product with up to 80% lower carbon footprint. With plans to further research and develop alternative ingredients for the food industry, the startup is also working on a replacement for cocoa butter and aims to address sustainability issues related to palm oil and other specialty fats. The Series B funding was co-led by Burda Principal Investments and Zintinus, with participation from AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance, Bayern Kapital, Cherry Ventures, Omnes Capital, Tengelmann Ventures, and World Fund.

Source: Tech Crunch