Italian Foodtech Foreverland Raises €6 Million for European Cocoa Alternative Scale-Up

Foreverland, an Italian foodtech company based in Puglia and Milan, has successfully secured €6 million in a recent funding round intended to accelerate its international market expansion across Europe. This capital infusion brings the company’s total funding to €9.4 million, building upon the €3.4 million raised during its initial Seed round in 2024. The investment consortium included follow-on support from existing backers Kost Capital and Maia Ventures, alongside new strategic investment from CDP Venture Capital's Accelerator Fund, Italia Venture II Fund, Riello Investimenti SGR's Linfa AgriFoodTech Fund, and Newtree Impact.

The foundation of Foreverland's innovation is Choruba, a proprietary cocoa-free chocolate substitute formulated primarily from carob, a resilient Mediterranean crop. This ingredient is engineered to replicate the sensory profile and functional characteristics of traditional chocolate, offering confectionery manufacturers a mechanism to mitigate the rising price volatility and supply chain instability affecting the global cocoa market. The company’s production process offers a notable environmental advantage: Choruba production is reported to use 90% less water and generate 80% fewer carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional chocolate manufacturing methods.

Operational readiness for high-volume industrial supply has been confirmed at Foreverland's production facility in Puglia, Italy. This site recently obtained the IFS Food certification, a global benchmark validating adherence to rigorous international quality and safety standards, which positions Foreverland as a reliable, large-scale supplier for industrial partners. The facility, operational since the previous year, maintains an established annual capacity of up to 500 tonnes of Choruba, available in formats including chips, drops, and liquid. The company is also leveraging Italy's position as the world's second-largest carob producer by aiming to utilize the 90% of the carob crop typically discarded when only the seed is used for locust bean gum.

In a strategic move to capture additional market share, Foreverland is concurrently launching an organic version of its Choruba product line. The company states it is currently the sole industrial-scale producer offering an organic cocoa-free alternative, with several organic products already available in Italian and French retail markets. This move addresses the growing consumer demand for transparent and sustainably sourced ingredients. Co-founder and CEO Massimo Sabatini noted that the funding validates the company's execution as a dependable industrial partner as it scales commercial growth across Europe, specifically targeting confectionery producers in Germany, France, and Italy, while also integrating senior personnel from the established cocoa industry.