Prefer Launches Coffee & Cocoa Powders, Raises $4.2M for Global Growth
Prefer, a Singapore-based food technology startup pioneering the use of fermentation to create sustainable and affordable flavours and food ingredients, has announced a major milestone in its growth journey. The company has successfully closed an oversubscribed US$4.2 million pre-Series A fundraising round while simultaneously unveiling its newest commercial products — soluble coffee and cocoa powders. These launches are part of its strategy to bring sustainable alternatives to traditionally resource-intensive commodities to the global food industry.
The announcement comes alongside news of Prefer’s first international commercial partnerships. The company is teaming up with Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. in Thailand and The Coffee Ferm in Australia, marking the startup’s entry into large-scale production and distribution beyond Singapore. These collaborations will help scale Prefer’s unique fermentation-based flavours to more consumers and businesses worldwide.
Transforming Byproducts into Premium Flavours
Prefer’s products are made using byproducts from food manufacturing, including rice and soy. Instead of letting these byproducts go to waste, the company transforms them through a proprietary fermentation and roasting process to replicate the taste, aroma, and functional characteristics of coffee and cocoa.
This innovation allows the company to address two pressing global challenges: reducing food waste and cutting the environmental footprint of high-demand crops. Coffee and cocoa are among the most resource-intensive and climate-sensitive commodities in the world, with production increasingly threatened by rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and deforestation pressures.
By creating flavour-equivalent ingredients with far less environmental cost, Prefer aims to offer food manufacturers, flavour houses, FMCG brands, and private label retailers a more resilient and sustainable supply option. The company’s products can be seamlessly incorporated into food and beverage manufacturing without sacrificing consumer taste expectations.
Significant Environmental and Cost Benefits
According to Prefer’s life cycle analysis, its coffee product delivers up to 85% lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional Arabica coffee. This is achieved by bypassing agricultural cultivation entirely and instead upcycling existing food byproducts.
In addition to its environmental benefits, Prefer’s coffee powder is approximately 50% more affordable than current market prices for Arabica coffee. This cost advantage has the potential to significantly benefit manufacturers facing commodity price volatility while also allowing them to meet sustainability goals.
Prefer’s cocoa powder, still in the early stages of large-scale commercial rollout, is being developed with similar goals in mind — maintaining the sensory experience of cocoa while lowering cost and drastically reducing environmental impact.
Commercial Launch and Global Outreach
With its soluble coffee and cocoa powders now commercially available, Prefer is actively inviting coffee and cocoa companies to connect and request samples through its website. The company emphasizes that its offerings are commercially proven — already tested in real-world production environments — and can help partners achieve measurable cost savings, supply chain stability, and positive environmental impact.
Jake Berber, Co-Founder and CEO of Prefer, expressed confidence in the company’s growth trajectory:
“With the support of our new partners, the quality of our new products, and the grit of this team, we’re in a unique position to ensure coffee and cocoa are accessible to the masses while respecting our planet.”
Funding and Strategic Investors
The US$4.2 million funding round was led by At One Ventures and Chancery Hill Capital, with participation from Forge Ventures, an existing investor in Prefer. This latest round brings the company’s total equity funding to US$6.2 million.
Helen Lin, Partner at At One Ventures and a newly appointed board member at Prefer, highlighted the broader significance of the company’s mission:
First International Partnerships
Prefer’s partnership with Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. will focus on developing new sustainable coffee beverage innovations aligned with Ajinomoto’s “Eat Well, Live Well” philosophy. This collaboration will explore ways to integrate Prefer’s fermentation-based flavours into the Thai beverage market while promoting healthier and more sustainable consumer choices.
In Australia and New Zealand, Prefer has joined forces with The Coffee Ferm. This partnership will license Prefer’s flavour intellectual property for local manufacturing and distribution, enabling production closer to key markets. By licensing technology rather than shipping finished products across continents, Prefer is further minimizing the carbon footprint of its supply chain.
Existing Market Presence
Prefer’s journey toward commercialization began earlier this year when it launched its coffee products through foodservice channels in Singapore. The company partnered with Melvados, a local food business known for its ready-to-eat and frozen desserts, to introduce coffee-based offerings made with Prefer’s sustainable coffee powder. This early partnership demonstrated the market viability of its ingredients and helped validate the taste and performance of its products in real-world applications.
Scaling Up and Future Plans
With fresh capital in hand, Prefer plans to scale its pilot production facility by working with toll manufacturers in strategically chosen markets. This approach will allow the company to expand production capacity without the heavy capital expenditure associated with building entirely new facilities.
Additionally, the company is set to deepen its R&D efforts on cocoa flavour development, aiming to replicate the same level of taste authenticity and environmental advantage it has achieved with coffee.
Prefer’s global expansion strategy will initially remain focused on Asia, where demand for coffee and cocoa-based products is growing rapidly. However, with partnerships now forming in Australia and New Zealand, the company is laying the groundwork for entry into broader international markets.
A Mission for Resilient and Ethical Supply Chains
The food and beverage industry faces a critical challenge: how to satisfy growing global demand for products like coffee and cocoa without worsening environmental degradation or overreliance on vulnerable agricultural supply chains.
Prefer’s fermentation-driven model offers a potential solution by decoupling taste and functionality from traditional farming inputs. By doing so, the company is not only helping its customers manage costs and risk but also contributing to a more sustainable and resilient global food system.
As Berber notes, the goal is not to replace coffee and cocoa entirely, but to create viable alternatives that can complement and support existing supply chains during times of shortage, price spikes, or climate-related disruption.
With increasing investor confidence, strong initial market adoption, and a clear roadmap for scale, Prefer appears well-positioned to influence the future of sustainable flavours in the global food industry.
