Planet A Foods received two major awards within a week – a testament to the growing relevance of the Munich foodtech startup. With its cacao-free chocolate alternative Choviva, the company ranks among the most innovative players in the European food market.
At the German Founder Prize 2025, Planet A Foods was nominated as one of three finalists in the “Rising Stars” category. The prize is considered one of the most important entrepreneurial awards in Germany. The jury consists of representatives from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), the Sparkassen, ZDF, and Porsche. The startup was honored for exceptional growth, a high degree of innovation, and entrepreneurial relevance.
The award ceremony will take place on September 9, 2025, at the ZDF headquarters studio in Berlin. Previous prize winners include companies such as BioNTech, Flix, Enpal, and Personio.
In addition to this nomination, Planet A Foods was awarded the Game Changer Award 2025 in the special “Rising Star” category on Thursday evening. This prize is awarded annually by Bain & Company together with Manager Magazin. The goal is to honor companies that set economic and social impulses through disruptive innovations. In addition to Planet A Foods, Trade Republic (Customer Experience), Trumpf (Product & Service Innovation), and the Nemetschek Group (Operations of the Future) were also recognized this year.
Choviva as a response to the cacao shortage
Planet A Foods was founded in 2021. The company’s mission is to develop sustainable alternatives to conventional ingredients – independent of fragile global supply chains. The core product Choviva is based on sunflower seeds and is the world’s first commercially available chocolate alternative that is completely cacao-free. In doing so, the company addresses one of the most pressing challenges in the food industry: declining cacao availability and the ecological costs of conventional chocolate production.
According to the company, Choviva is already available in more than 60 products in nine countries worldwide – including in cereals, confectionery, and baked goods. Cooperation partners include well-known brands such as Riegelein, De Beukelaer, and Piasten (Treets). The company is also pursuing expansion internationally: market entries in the USA and Asia are planned.
“Both awards mean an enormous amount to us. They make clear how urgently we need new, innovative ways to sustainably replace threatened ingredients like cacao. Our cacao-free chocolate alternative closes the gap between rising demand and shrinking supply in the market”,
says Sara Marquart, co-founder and CTO of Planet A Foods.
