Italian food tech startup Foreverland has opened a production facility and launched a yeast protein bar featuring its cocoa-free chocolate.
Foreverland is taking its carob-based chocolate alternative to new heights, setting up a new facility and launching an innovative product into supermarkets.
The startup has opened its first production facility in Puglia, which can produce 500 tonnes of its cocoa-free chocolate every year.
In addition, it has partnered with Italian protein innovator Small Giants to roll out a protein bar pairing its Choruba ingredient with the latter’s nutritional yeast protein.
Foreverland’s new factory enables full-scale production
Founded in 2023, Foreverland is modernising the carob-based chocolate substitutes of the 20th century with fermentation to more closely mimic the flavour of cocoa and chocolate.
Its ingredient has strong sustainability credentials, which is becoming increasingly important for the chocolate industry. Climate change has destroyed cocoa yields in West Africa, home to the two largest producers of cocoa, and scientists have warned that a third of all cocoa trees might die out by 2050.
Supply shortages have pushed cocoa prices to all-time highs, hurting the bottom lines of industry giants like The Hershey Company, which has subsequently announced a double-digit hike in product prices. Chocolate production itself is a major driver of climate change, producing more greenhouse gases than any other food bar beef, and being the source of widespread deforestation and food waste.
By using carob, Foreverland valorises an ingredient that also generates a large amount of waste. Globally, 90% of the carob fruit is discarded, with only the seeds used for locust bean gum. It upcycles the byproduct into Choruba, which lowers water consumption by 90% and emissions by 80% compared to conventional chocolate.
Last year, Foreverland raised €3.4M ($3.8M) in seed funding to expand its capacity, promising a new manufacturing plant that would help it move from pilot projects to full-scale production.
Now that the facility is operational, it allows the startup to run industrial trials with larger clients, secure small and medium-sized customers, and deliver a steady, scalable supply of cocoa-free chocolate. It features a dedicated pilot fermentation room too, enabling its team to test and refine processing steps flexibly, while protecting know-how and validating unit economics.
“The new plant allows us to work hand in hand with manufacturers, speed up recipe development, and bring sustainable chocolate alternatives into everyday products across Europe, all while ensuring we can meet demand at accessible price points,” said co-founder and CEO Massimo Sabatini.
Cocoa-free chocolate meets yeast protein
To make Choruba, Foreverland grinds carob pulp and mixes it with other sustainable ingredients, like pumpkin seeds and chickpeas. The resulting mass is then conched and tempered the same way as chocolate, and the alternative is sold to companies either in liquid form or as drops.
The startup has previously launched limited-edition batches of Easter eggs, pralines and panettone, as well as chocolate-covered almonds with nut producer Pioppo. It has also revealed plans to introduce products like vegan milk, dark, and white chocolate alternatives, as well as spreadable creams.
Now, it has teamed up with Small Giants to launch Choruba Protein Bites. The protein bars have a base of peanut butter and nutritional yeast protein that’s coated with cocoa-free chocolate. Each bar has 30% of protein and costs €1.99 online and at Gulliver stores.
“Retailers and consumers are looking for real alternatives in categories like chocolate, where sustainability challenges are growing. Through our collaboration with Foreverland, we’re bringing products made with innovative ingredients to market shelves,” said Small Giants CEO Edoardo Imparato.
“They deliver on taste, nutrition and responsibility. It’s a concrete step towards making sustainable indulgence the new normal in European supermarkets,” he added.
Choruba-powered products are available in Germany too, and Foreverland (which won HackSummit’s inaugural FoodTech World Cup last year) is now in talks to expand the ingredient’s footprint into France and the Nordics.
It is part of a fast-growing cocoa-free chocolate industry, which includes innovators such as Voyage Foods, Planet A Foods, Compound Foods, Prefer, Nukoko, Endless Food Co, and Win-Win.
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