- “Beanless coffee” – made by synthesising or extracting compounds from other plant-based sources that mimic the flavour and aroma of real coffee – is attracting attention from consumers and investors alike.
- The US’ Atomo raised US$7.8mn in January 2025 to expand international café collaborations and recently launched in the UK. Brands like Minus, Voyage Foods, Prefer, and Compound Foods have seen similar levels of success.
- Beanless coffee brands largely position their products as a sustainable alternative to the coffee industry’s supply chain, with a specific focus on environmental issues.
- Although it’s a disruptive sign of innovation, beanless coffee is unlikely to challenge the consumption of traditional coffee any time soon.
Investors and customers alike are showing a growing interest in “beanless” coffee.
Typically made from ingredients like date pits, sunflower seeds, millet, carob, and pea protein, beanless coffee promises the same flavour profile of traditional coffee.
However, manufacturers claim it has a better sustainability footprint than real coffee, helping raise millions in funding to scale products and expand café partnerships. Seattle startup Atomo Coffee, a leader in the market, raised US$7.8mn in Series B funding in January 2025 to ramp up sales of its 50:50 beanless blend through international partnerships.
While it’s disrupting the industry, positioning itself as a sustainable alternative, beanless coffee has a long way to go before it challenges the status quo.
Dr. Steffen Schwarz at the Coffee Consulate and Andy Kleitsch at Atomo Coffee share their insight.
You may also like our article on Px coffee.
What is “beanless” coffee?
The term “beanless coffee” has proliferated in recent years, as mainstream media outlets report on its potential to replicate one of the world’s most popular beverages. But what is it exactly?
Although ingredients vary between brands, beanless coffee often contains a mix of different food products. These can include date seeds, sunflower seed extract, pea protein, millet, chicory, lemon, fenugreek seeds, lupin, chickpea, and malted barley. Green tea extract is often added to boost caffeine levels, too.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a product that closely mimics the flavour, aroma, and appearance – and therefore the overall drinking experience – of real coffee.
While it represents high-level innovation in food engineering, the concept isn’t entirely new.
“If history has taught us anything, it’s that scarcity often breeds invention,” says Steffen, the Managing Director of the Coffee Consulate, a coffee research and training centre in Mannheim, Germany. “When Prussia banned coffee in the late 18th century, roasted chicory and barley were the solution. During the world wars, when beans were rationed, acorns and rye were the alternative.”
These historical ties associate beanless coffee with periods of economic hardship or scarcity. However, today’s innovations go far beyond simple substitution.
Modern production processes often employ sophisticated techniques, including fermentation and roasting, to create complex flavour profiles. Today’s beanless coffee products are also ground and designed to be brewed using the same methods as traditional coffee, maintaining the familiarity of the brewing ritual.
Investment opportunities are growing
The beanless coffee category has experienced significant growth over the past five years, with investor interest driving innovation and market expansion.
In June 2025, Belgian startup Koppie Bean, founded by a former marketer from Danone and Alpro, and a bioscience engineer, secured an undisclosed amount of funding to scale up its technology, which utilises local fermented legumes. Similarly, beanless coffee brand Singapore’s Prefer recently raised US$4.2mn in a funding round, demonstrating sustained investor confidence in the category’s potential.
Atomo Coffee is a prominent example. In December 2023, the company received a multimillion-dollar investment from Suntory Holdings – a Japanese company that manages a diverse portfolio of soft drinks, coffee, tea, and energy drinks, and alcohol brands. More recently, Atomo secured nearly US$8mn in funding, meaning the brand has secured close to US$60mn in investment since its launch in 2019.
“Many of our early investors told us they saw beanless coffee as an ‘inevitable technology’ due to the climate impacts affecting coffee-growing regions over the next 30 years,” says Andy, the CEO of Atomo Coffee. “Our early investors are largely mission-driven, focused on bringing climate-focused solutions to market.”
One common claim among beanless coffee products is that they can help bridge the growing gap between supply and demand.
Climate volatility and fragile supply chains have created uncertainty in traditional coffee markets, especially in the last two years, during which green coffee costs have more than doubled. Numerous studies assert that by 2025, the amount of land suitable for coffee production could shrink by as much as 50%. As global coffee consumption is predicted to rise for the foreseeable future, this raises questions about how producers will meet demand.
Sustainability concerns, including deforestation in coffee-growing regions and the carbon footprint of global shipping, are also influencing consumer choices – and raising their interest in beanless coffee products.
Health considerations also play a significant role; consumers are increasingly seeking beverages that are gluten-free, caffeine-free, or gentler on digestive systems. Rising coffee prices add economic pressure, prompting coffee drinkers to seek out alternatives – although some beanless products actually cost more than coffee itself.
Others, meanwhile, assert that pure marketing innovation is the primary driver of the category’s appeal.
What does this mean for the coffee industry?
Like any new product development, it’s crucial to question whether beanless coffee represents a passing trend or a shift in consumption that could reshape the broader coffee landscape.
Rather than positioning itself as a direct competitor, beanless coffee appears to be seeking integration with existing coffee industry markets.
“We started Atomo to make the world a better place, and to achieve this goal, we must partner across the global coffee industry, supplying sustainable solutions to as many markets as possible,” Andy says. “We see Atomo as a technology and ingredient supplier for the conventional coffee industry, enabling everyone involved to bring innovative coffee products to market.”
The brand recently partnered with US chain Bluestone Lane, which serves Atomo’s 50:50 blend (a mix of real and beanless coffee) at all of its nearly 60 locations – signs that collaboration between the two industries is viable.
“Will it disrupt? Possibly not in the way synthetic textiles disrupted wool, but more as plant-based meats sit beside beef in today’s markets,” Steffen suggests. “They will coexist, sometimes complement, and in certain niches – such as wellness hotels, school canteens, or health-conscious homes – they may even displace.”
But the pathway to mainstream adoption faces several challenges. Quality, especially, remains paramount for consumer acceptance.
“As we developed Atomo over the years, our early investors reminded us that although consumers want sustainable solutions, they first need a great-tasting, better-for-you, price-competitive product with the same brewing experience,” Andy notes.
The implications for traditional coffee producers, particularly smallholder farmers, deserve careful consideration. Over 125 million farmers worldwide rely on coffee production for their livelihoods, so minimising their access to market risks a reduction in their income.
“I don’t see beanless coffee affecting coffee farmers,” Andy says. “Coffee producers already face significant problems: frost, leaf rust, drought, labour issues, and climate change. Beanless coffee is the least of their problems. We need all coffee farmers to be wildly successful to meet the global demand, but what we want to avoid is the further deforestation of the last wild places on earth to grow more coffee.”
However, the coffee industry has already made significant progress in addressing issues like deforestation. European Union Deforestation Regulation-compliant coffee is already available on the market, meeting the demand for more sustainable options.
“On one hand, a world that drinks less coffee could mean shrinking demand and falling prices, striking hardest at smallholders who already stand on precarious economic ground,” says Steffen. “On the other hand, new partnerships may emerge: farmers in Ethiopia or Colombia could diversify by cultivating lupine or chicory alongside their coffee plots.”
The long-term outlook suggests market integration rather than displacement. Ultimately, beanless coffee is likely to carve out its own space within the broader beverage market rather than threatening coffee’s dominance.
Beanless coffee is disrupting the industry, positioning itself as a sustainable alternative. But it has a long way to go before it challenges the status quo.
These alternatives are creating new opportunities for innovation, sustainability, and consumer choice. However, the success of beanless coffee will depend on brands’ ability to deliver on flavour and quality while fulfilling promises of sustainability.
As investment continues and major brands begin to experiment with these products, beanless coffee could become a permanent fixture in the beverage industry. For now, however, its market presence is minimal.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why sustainability has become a buzzword in specialty coffee.
Photo credits: Atomo Coffee
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