©SoChatti
Indiana-based chocolate start-up SoChatti has secured $2.2 million in Series A funding and $950,000 in bank financing to accelerate the growth of its artisan chocolate brand.
SoChatti claims to have created a “whole new chocolate experience” through offering its chocolate in melted form and by using a proprietary flavour preservation method, which it says maintains the unique flavours of each cacao origin.
The company’s portfolio includes a 72% dark chocolate product that is made with three ingredients; cacao nibs, organic cane sugar and organic cacao butter. It has recently celebrated the launch of SoChatti To Go; a snack-sized counterpart to the start-up’s original pouches.
Most recently, SoChatti has moved into a new 12,000 square-foot facility to support the expanded production of its chocolate products tenfold as it grows its direct-to-consumer distribution and retail presence.
Located in Indianapolis’ Circle City Industrial Complex, the new facility features a space dedicated to R&D to focus on the expansion into other future food and beverage categories through flavour preservation and balancing.
The new facility also includes a tasting room that will be open to the public.
Ryan Rans, managing partner of Great Lakes Capital, and Bob Kirch, former CEO of Caito Foods and current managing partner of Kirch Equity Investments, invested in the round.
“Not only is the chocolate the best I’ve ever tasted, but there are some very exciting things on the horizon for SoChatti from a growth perspective. SoChatti has developed some fantastic new technologies in food that pave the way for continued innovation in the chocolate category and beyond,” said Rans.
SoChatti founder and CEO, Matt Rubin, said: “The overwhelming consumer response to SoChatti chocolate signalled that we’ve cracked a code when it comes to flavour preservation.
“We’ve been able to capture and produce chocolate flavour that doesn’t degrade over time in a way that was previously impossible and unheard of in the industry. What’s most exciting is that what we’ve been able to prove with chocolate is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shelf-stable flavour that doesn’t require preservatives.”
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