GreenSpot Technologies Ferments Food Waste into Cocoa-Free Chocolate
- Gauri Khanna
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Too long to read? Go for the highlights below.
Green Spot Technologies has raised €5M to scale production of fermented cocoa-free ingredients from 100 to 1,000 tonnes a year.
Milatea, its new brand, converts sidestreams such as fava beans and grape marc into chocolate-style powders, chips and fillings for bakery and confectionery use.
Climate stress on cacao (six extra weeks above 32°C in 70% of African growing regions) and food-waste emissions are driving investment in cocoa alternatives.
As climate pressure mounts on cacao production, a small French firm is betting that microbes and waste streams may help secure the future of indulgence. The Toulouse-based Green Spot Technologies has secured €5M to increase output of its fermented ingredients tenfold, raising capacity from 100 to 1,000 tonnes each year. The funding blends equity and bank loans, led by Team for the Planet with support from the European Innovation Council, EIT Food and new angel investors. The goal is straightforward: turn overlooked byproducts into stable, flavour-rich substitutes, starting with cocoa alternatives under a new brand, Milatea.
From Byproducts to Chocolate-Like Powders
The company collects food-industry sidestreams, spent brewers’ grain, tomato skins and wine grape marc among them, and runs them through a fermentation process using non-GMO cultures. Fermentation breaks down tough fibres, reduces sugars and unwanted compounds, and enhances aroma. Once dried and milled, the resulting powders form the basis of a growing ingredient portfolio.
Earlier lines included fermented tomato sauces and high-fibre bakery mixes. But the highlight is a series of cocoa-free ingredients originating from the fava bean and grape sectors. These now form the backbone of Milatea, which will supply fillings, chips and powdered substitutes to bakeries, pastry kitchens and confectionery manufacturers. The powders withstand baking and freezing, and the chocolate-style chips, offered in dark and milk variants, can be made fully plant-based. Milatea is also releasing fillings with chocolate or chocolate-hazelnut flavours that avoid cocoa, dairy and tropical commodities such as palm oil.
Climate Pressure Reshapes Chocolate Supply Chains
The growing interest in cocoa alternatives is not coincidental. Rising temperatures have already added six weeks of days above 32°C in more than 70% of cacao-producing regions in Africa. Major producers Ivory Coast and Ghana have lost over 85% of their forest cover since 1960, with plantations now exposed to more extreme weather and disease. Scientists warn that a third of the world’s cocoa trees could be lost by 2050.
Chocolate’s environmental profile compounds the challenge. Producing a single bar requires roughly 1,700 litres of water. Greenhouse-gas emissions per kilogram exceed every food product except beef. When paired with accelerating deforestation and substantial waste, the sector faces a structural sustainability problem.
Food waste itself is a major burden, responsible for as much as 10% of global emissions and an estimated $1 trillion in yearly economic losses. Green Spot Technologies attempts to tackle both issues at once: valorising waste streams while developing cocoa-free ingredients that circumvent climate-sensitive supply chains.
Dry Fermentation as a Scalable Tool
The firm’s process relies on dry fermentation, which uses around 60% less water than the more common wet approach. Before scaling, the company has already prevented an estimated 235 tonnes of food-waste-related emissions. With Milatea, the ambition is to demonstrate that waste-sourced chocolate alternatives can meet the functional demands of professional kitchens. According to internal estimates, the technology could eventually deliver up to 100,000 kilograms of product annually.
The sector’s momentum is accelerating. Other cocoa-free ventures, among them Prefer and Win-Win, as well as cell-based cocoa developers Food Brewer and Pluri, have also drawn investment this year. Major chocolate manufacturers are watching closely. Lindt, Puratos and Mondelēz International have already backed startups in this emerging field, while Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest B2B chocolate supplier, is exploring partnerships on both cocoa-free and cell-based routes.
Future Prospects
Green Spot Technologies has collected several accolades, including the Kraft Heinz Co Innovation Challenge win and a place among the 2024 Earthshot Prize finalists, yet its value lies less in awards than in proving a principle: fermentation can convert industrial waste into functional, scalable food ingredients. As cocoa becomes more vulnerable to climate volatility, the notion of “fermenting the future of food” is shifting from aspiration to strategy.
If Milatea’s products perform consistently in bakeries and confectioneries, others may follow its path, broadening the role of fermentation in stabilising global supply chains. For now, the company’s expansion marks a notable step in the growing effort to disentangle chocolate from the environmental pressures that threaten its future.