The Munich foodtech Ciao Coffee has successfully completed a financing round in the mid-six-figure range. The round is led by the impact angel network Better Ventures. Several business angels from the fast-moving consumer goods, e-commerce, and foodtech sectors are also participating. The fresh capital will be used for brand building, retail expansion, and product development.
Iced coffee without beans
Ciao Coffee wants to change the market with a new form of coffee – functional, sustainable, and healthy. Traditional coffee often comes with ecological and health problems: a single cup of coffee requires up to 140 liters of water. Cultivation in monocultures strains the environment and biodiversity.
Ciao Coffee’s solution: iced coffee without beans. Instead, natural ingredients such as rye, barley, chicory, and dandelion root are used, which according to the company come exclusively from European cultivation. The recipe combines dosed caffeine with a B-vitamin complex and iron. The desired effect: sustained alertness and focus without caffeine crashes.
“With Ciao Coffee, we want to rethink coffee – more sustainably, more functionally, more healthily. Enjoyment, innovation, and responsibility are not mutually exclusive. So why leave everything as it is when it could be better?”,
explains Anton Reich, co-founder of Ciao Coffee.
First retail listings
Although Ciao Coffee is still in an early phase, the team has already achieved initial success in retail. According to the startup, the iced coffee is listed in over 500 Rewe stores (South, North, Central), at Edeka (Southwest, Rhine-Ruhr), and in around 100 Billa Plus locations in Austria. According to the company, sales figures are on par with established brands such as Starbucks, Emmi, and Mövenpick.
Ciao Coffee is tapping into two relevant market trends: on one hand, the market for functional beverages in Europe is growing dynamically and is already estimated at several billion euros. On the other hand, the number of consumers who do not tolerate coffee well health-wise – and are looking for alternatives – is rising.
“Ciao Coffee shows how new brands boldly rethink markets – with a clear focus on sustainability, functionality, health, and enjoyment. The team combines excellent brand management with real impact – and strikes a nerve in the mainstream”,
says Tina Dreimann, co-founder and managing director of Better Ventures.
The startup is led by founders Tobias Hollaus, Felix Hellenberg, Dennis von Bismarck, and Anton Reich, who have already gained experience in FMCG, food innovation, and brand building.
