Foreverland, a FoodTech startup based in Milan and Puglia, today announced a €6 million funding round to expand across Europe and scale up the commercial growth of its cocoa-free chocolate alternative Choruba.
This round increases the company’s total capital raised to €9.4 million and includes follow-on participation from existing investors Kost Capital and Maia Ventures. It was also supported by new backing from CDP Venture Capital, via its Accelerator Fund and Italia Venture II Fund; Linfa agrifoodtech fund, managed by Riello Investimenti SGR; and Newtree Impact.
Massimo Sabatini, co-founder and CEO of Foreverland, declared, “This round validates our execution, not just as a FoodTech innovator, but as a reliable industrial partner for confectionery manufacturers. With IFS (International Featured Standards) Food certification in place and demand accelerating, we’re scaling commercial growth across Europe, strengthening key partnerships, and bringing in senior talent from the cocoa and chocolate indusattempt to support manufacturers at scale.”
Foreverland is a food ingredients company founded in 2022 by Massimo Sabatini, Riccardo Bottiroli, Giutilizeppe D’Alessandro, and Massimo Brochetta. It offers solutions that de-risk unstable supply chains and produce clean-label, Mediterranean-sourced alternatives to critical raw materials, such as cocoa.
Its flagship innovation, Choruba (formerly Freecao), is a cocoa-free chocolate alternative created from resilient Mediterranean crops like Carob. The company asserts that it provides the flavour and experience of chocolate with a reduced environmental impact.
Foreverland’s production facility in Italy has recently earned IFS certification. The site processes locally sourced Mediterranean ingredients, like carob, into cocoa-free chocolate alternatives intconcludeed for industrial applications. This supports manufacturers minimise risks associated with cocoa price fluctuations and supply disruptions. Foreverland’s production plant can produce up to 500 tonnes/year of alternative chocolate in chips, drops or liquid form.
The company claims that compared to its traditional counterparts, it utilizes up to 90% less water and emits up to 83% less CO2, without compromising on taste or technical performance.
The Italian startup is also broadening its range into the organic sector with the launch of a dedicated organic Choruba line. It emphasises that while its core business continues to be supplying conventional, cocoa-free chocolate ingredients to manufacturers, it believes it is currently the only producer offering an organic cocoa-free alternative on an industrial scale, with several organic products containing Choruba already available on shelves in Italy and France.
With the fresh capital, the company aims to speed up Foreverland’s international growth in Europe, focutilizing on strengthening ties with key confectionery companies in Germany, France, and Italy, and hiring senior commercial leaders from globally recognised cocoa and chocolate manufacturers. In 2024, the company raised €3.4 million in a Seed funding round.
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