FoodHack

Mar 1, 2023

LONDON, October 20, 2022 – WNWN Food Labs , the first to bring cacao-free chocolate to market, announced today it has won one of three awards at FoodHack Demo Day , a competition inviting high-impact startups to make presentations to an audience of more than 200 global investors. WNWN was named “most likely to oversubscribe,” based on the strength of its fermentation technology and a compelling pitch by CEO and cofounder Ahrum Pak. “WNWN Food Labs’ fermentation technology has enabled them to create a full range of ethical, sustainable and resilient alternative ingredients to produce chocolate,” wrote FoodHack. “The judges were convinced their round would be oversubscribed thanks to rave reviews of their products by the FoodTech community, a more scalable solution than synbio and a choco-lot of investor interest.” WNWN’s competition included companies with products already available in retail or restaurants. Following the event, FoodHack makes introductions between startups and investors. Angel investors in the FoodHack Syndicate fill the rounds of at least three startups from Demo Day. “This affirmation from FoodHack is appreciated as we put together our next financing options and plan what kinds of partners to bring in,” said Pak. “It can be challenging to build reputation and mindshare in the food-tech community, where there are so many breakthroughs and so many welcome advances in building a more sustainable food system.” WNWN has already released two cacao-free chocolate products to the public: a box of dark choc thins and the Waim! bar, its take on the classic Daim bar. Its proprietary process applies traditional fermentation techniques to sustainable, widely available plant-based ingredients to create cacao-free chocolate that tastes, melts, snaps and bakes just like chocolate. Its formula is vegan, caffeine-free, gluten-free, palm oil-free, lower in sugar than comparable products, and even safe for dogs since it contains no theobromine. Consumers are increasingly concerned about deforestation, habitat destruction, and unfair labor practices in the conventional chocolate supply chain. More than a million child laborers are estimated to work in Ivory Coast and Ghana, where three-quarters of the world’s cacao is grown. Cacao crops are also vulnerable due to climate change, including rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, which has led experts to predict chocolate shortages in the coming years. In addition to cacao-free chocolate, WNWN plans to explore how its methods can future-proof more foods such as coffee, tea and vanilla, which each have supply chains mired in unethical and unsustainable practices. Follow WNWN