Planet A Foods

Planet A Foods is a Munich-based business-to-business food technology company that develops and manufactures ingredients intended to replace cocoa-derived inputs in industrial food production. Its flagship product, ChoViva, is a cocoa-free chocolate alternative produced through a proprietary fermentation and roasting process applied to locally sourced ingredients, principally sunflower seeds and oats. The company describes ChoViva as a cocoa mass and cocoa butter substitute with a melting texture and chocolate-like flavour that can be used either as a partial (hybrid) or full replacement for conventional chocolate; it is stated to contain up to 30% less sugar and to carry a carbon footprint approximately 80% lower than conventional chocolate, with the highest figure applying to the vegan variant that contains no milk ingredients.

The company was founded in 2021 by sibling PhDs Maximilian Marquart (CEO, material science and mechanical engineering) and Sara Marquart (CTO, food chemistry) and participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2021 batch under the earlier name QOA. Beyond cocoa replacement, Planet A Foods positions its fermentation platform as extensible to further plant-based ingredients, including specialty fats to replace cocoa butter and alternatives to palm oil. Management, in addition to the two founders, includes a CFO and heads of sales, operations, and marketing/PR.

Production takes place in an IFS-certified facility; the company reported capacity of 750 kg of ChoViva per hour in early 2024 and annual output of roughly 2,000 tons in late 2024, with plans to scale beyond 15,000 tons per year using both its own plants and partner capacity, and planning for a first production facility in the United States.