Prefer launches coffee, cocoa powders from food byproducts

The new ingredients aim to help customers reduce supply chain risks.

Prefer, a Singapore-based food tech startup spun out from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), has launched its first soluble coffee and cocoa powders for the food industry, made from food manufacturing byproducts such as rice and soy.

The products, developed using a proprietary fermentation and roasting process, are designed to replicate the taste and functionality of conventional coffee and cocoa whilst offering significant cost and carbon savings.

Targeted at FMCG brands, food manufacturers, private label retailers, and flavour houses, the new ingredients aim to help customers reduce supply chain risks whilst delivering familiar taste experiences.

The product launch comes alongside an oversubscribed $5.64m (US$4.2m) Pre-A funding round, co-led by At One Ventures and Chancery Hill Capital, with continued participation from Forge Ventures. This round brings Prefer’s total equity raised to $8.33m (US$6.2m).

Proceeds will go toward scaling pilot production through toll manufacturers, deepening cocoa flavour development, and expanding international partnerships, with a continued focus on Asia.

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