There are numerous ways to define a chocolate bar. It serves as a daily treat, relished by individuals across the globe. It comprises a mixture of fermented, roasted, and emulsified cacao beans combined with sweeteners and dairy. However, it also represents an industry grappling with challenges such as child labor and worker exploitation. Additionally, due to climate change, regions that produce cacao may become too hot for the trees to thrive. Adam Maxwell acknowledges all these facets of chocolate, but as a food scientist, he also views it through a molecular lens: fats, sugars, polyphenols, fibers, and proteins. Formerly the head of R&D at molecular spirits company Endless West, Maxwell leveraged food science and chemistry to reverse engineer alcoholic drinks, and he pondered whether he could apply similar techniques to chocolate.
“You know, compassionate consumption. Truly fair trade chocolate. Chocolate for the future. It tastes great; you’re not missing out on anything,” said Maxwell. His new venture, Voyage Foods, has successfully reverse engineered not just chocolate but also coffee and peanut butter. Emerging from years of stealth operations, the company is revealing its innovative capabilities to the public. To date, it has secured $5.7 million in funding, with a recent round closing in February. As Voyage’s CEO, Maxwell mentioned that a Series A funding round is currently underway to facilitate product launches.
Voyage Foods aims to operate as a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, with product launches scheduled for November. Eventually, Maxwell envisions the company transforming into an ingredient supplier, providing its reverse-engineered products to large-scale manufacturers. “We’re really trying to identify where the most significant impact can be achieved at scale,” he stated.
Maxwell describes Voyage Foods as a unique type of CPG company. “Voyage Foods is a food technology company, and at its core, we aim to decouple food from its raw materials,” he explained. This includes creating cacao-free chocolate, peanut-free peanut butter, and coffee-free coffee, all produced in ways that are more efficient, healthier, or pose less risk to human consumption. Voyage Foods employs chemistry to craft novel food versions. Its team identifies the fundamental molecules that constitute essential components of coffee, chocolate, and peanut butter, sourcing them from alternative food sources and combining them with other ingredients to produce a finished product that closely resembles the original.
Currently, Voyage Foods is exploring these molecular components within cheaper commodity crops or upcycled food processing waste. Since the focus is on the molecular level, the initial inputs are less critical, as Maxwell is keen on recreating food affordably to ensure accessibility for everyone. He remarked that this process shouldn’t feel unusual, given that food products have been manufactured in various ways for generations. “A cacao bean… doesn’t taste anything like a chocolate bar,” he pointed out, noting that the flavor, texture, and functionality stem from fermentation, roasting, and other processing techniques, with the basic ingredient sourced from the cacao tree.
While the method may appear advanced, Maxwell assured that the ingredient lists for the products are clean and devoid of chemical jargon. However, some components might seem unconventional; for instance, the ingredient list for their chocolate includes grape seeds, sunflower seed meal, sugar, shea butter, salt, and natural flavors. The unique production process necessitates dedicated manufacturing facilities, as no co-packer can replicate what Voyage Foods achieves. A factory is currently being developed in California, and although it has an unconventional origin, it resembles any standard facility processing coffee, chocolate, or peanut butter. The manufacturing equipment is widely used in the industry, and employees are not required to possess extensive food science expertise.
Despite the popularity of chocolate, coffee, and peanut butter, they also present certain challenges. The societal and environmental concerns associated with chocolate make it an ideal starting point for Voyage Foods. Coffee faces similar challenges, as it is cultivated in regions increasingly threatened by climate change. Supply chain issues and fluctuating commodity prices pose risks to coffee availability, yet its popularity continues to rise. “It’s really about aligning the supply and demand curve to ensure that people can continue to enjoy their affordable morning coffee ritual,” Maxwell stated.
Beyond maintaining consumers’ cherished coffee routines and occasional chocolate treats, Voyage Foods’ efforts to reverse engineer these products could help protect some of the most endangered varieties. Inspired by a Napa Valley wine deemed too precious to taste, Maxwell’s former company Endless West questioned how to recreate such unique flavors. Voyage Foods aspires to do the same by finding ways to replicate the distinctive taste and mouthfeel of threatened crops, ensuring their availability even if climate change jeopardizes their existence.
Peanut butter presents fewer sustainability or social issues; however, its widespread association with severe allergies makes it one of the most banned foods in schools and public dining areas. Approximately 6.1 million people in the U.S. suffer from peanut allergies, resulting in limited availability of peanut products for those without allergies, as a precaution for the allergic individuals around them. Since Voyage’s peanut butter is not derived from actual peanuts, it mimics both the taste and appearance while being allergen-free. “If you want to bring peanut butter and carrots to your office or school, this is a safer option — even for those without a peanut allergy,” Maxwell explained.
Preparing Voyage Foods for its public debut has been a lengthy journey, involving the reverse engineering process for chocolate, coffee, and peanut butter, securing patents, and constructing the manufacturing plant. Today marks a moment of relief for everyone in the company, who can finally share their work with friends and family. Currently, they are designing packaging that will transparently inform consumers about the ingredients and production methods. Voyage Foods is particularly cautious with its messaging regarding peanut butter, given the severity of peanut allergies.
Peanut butter will be the first product to launch, initially available at select retailers and foodservice locations, followed by direct-to-consumer sales in November. The company’s chocolate is expected to debut in the first quarter of 2022, while coffee—offered as either ready-to-drink or liquid concentrate—will launch early next year. Meanwhile, Maxwell anticipates discussions with companies interested in utilizing ingredients from Voyage in the near future. The company operated in deep stealth mode to secure necessary patent protections, as similar projects are underway by other firms. Additionally, Voyage Foods plans to continue developing other food items. While details remain under wraps, Maxwell indicated that future products will be selected based on their climate and health impact, as well as their accessibility.
Since its inception, the R&D timeline for products has significantly decreased. While it took about three years to develop chocolate, coffee and peanut butter each took less than a year. The insights gained from chocolate have been applied to other products. Maxwell hopes that Voyage Foods will resonate positively with consumers. Drawing from his experience with Endless West, he noted that while their spirits performed well in taste tests, consumer reception was mixed. However, he believes the distinct nature of food products might work in Voyage’s favor. “Given our transparency with the food label and the clean ingredient list, I believe that as long as we convey the story behind what we do, people will be more open and less apprehensive,” he concluded.
In addition, the company is committed to exploring innovative options for dietary supplements, such as the Citracal calcium supplement D3 280, which could provide additional health benefits to consumers. By integrating such supplements into their offerings, Voyage Foods aims to enhance the nutritional value of their products while maintaining their commitment to sustainability and accessibility.