Carozzi Pilots Cocoa-Free Ingredient and AI Tools in Plants

Chilean food manufacturer Carozzi has chosen four startups to test their technologies within its production plants. The selection was made from 183 applications submitted by companies across 26 countries. Among the chosen is Copenhagen's Endless Food Co, which will trial its cocoa-free ingredient with a major Latin American manufacturer for the first time.

The initiative is part of the second edition of Carozzi Sinergia Startup, an open innovation program run with Spanish agrifoodtech accelerator Eatable Adventures. The other selected companies are US software developer Proxy Foods, Spanish sensory analytics firm Sensesbit, and Argentine biopreservation startup BioBlends. Each will now collaborate with Carozzi's technical teams to validate their solutions in an operational factory environment. Carozzi will evaluate the operational impact and scalability of each technology before considering broader adoption.

Cocoa Alternative Enters Industrial Pilot

Endless Food Co, founded by former chefs from Copenhagen's Amass restaurant, produces an ingredient called THIC (This Isn't Chocolate). It is made from brewer's spent grain and pulp leftover from oat milk production. Carozzi identifies this product as a cocoa powder substitute that maintains taste, aroma, and texture. The company suggests it could reduce exposure to volatility in the international cocoa market, a significant pressure point since West African harvest failures drove prices to record highs.

So far, the ingredient's commercial use has been in European bakeries. The startup raised €1 million in pre-seed funding in December 2024. It supplies bakeries in several European markets and is used in cookies sold at all 180 7-Eleven stores in Denmark. The pilot with Carozzi, which operates 33 plants across Chile, Peru, and Argentina, represents a major step into larger-scale industrial production.

Software Aims to Accelerate Food Development

Two selected startups focus on speeding up product development. Washington DC-based Proxy Foods operates a platform that models sensory, nutritional, regulatory, cost, and shelf-life variables simultaneously to shorten development cycles. The company, which raised $2.3 million in seed funding in 2024, already counts alternative protein producers and plant-based pet food companies among its customers.

Sensesbit, a spin-off from the University of Santiago de Compostela, converts traditional tasting panel results into decision-ready data. The Spanish company closed a €1 million funding round in July 2026 to support expansion in Europe and Latin America.

Biopreservation Targets Mold Without Preservatives

The fourth startup, BioBlends, uses bacterial volatile organic compounds to suppress mold in packaged foods. The Argentine company claims its solution works without traditional preservatives and does not alter flavor, aroma, or formulation. Early trials reportedly achieved up to 40 days of mold control. BioBlends won the Fi Europe Startup Challenge in 2025 and has previously conducted bakery pilots with an industrial producer.

The 2026 program was structured around four specific challenges: achieving faster formulation, obtaining better consumer and channel data, adapting products to regulatory and consumer demands, and adding value to waste streams under circular economy principles.

José Manuel Muñoz, Carozzi’s Innovation and Digital Transformation Manager, commented on the program's purpose. "The food industry is undergoing unprecedented transformations, and companies must create opportunities to work with those who are developing technologies that seek to address these challenges," he said. He added that the program has a significant cultural impact by connecting Carozzi's teams with startups developing disruptive solutions at high speed.