According to estimates, if left unaddressed, climate change will reduce 50 per cent of arable and suitable farmlands currently used for coffee production, threatening the existence of our morning dose of espresso. This problem is made more urgent with the increasing demand for coffee in global markets, causing the price of coffee beans, particularly Arabica, to skyrocket.

To solve this problem, Singapore-based Prefer produces beanless coffee for coffee shops and other food services.

“We went out into the market and asked coffee shops around here: If we could make a product that tastes just like coffee at the same price point, if not more affordable, would you buy it? And the answer was yes. That was when we committed to this idea of making coffee without using coffee beans, making sure that these cafes will always have an affordable and sustainable option,” says Prefer CEO Jake Berber at a launch event on Thursday, February 22.

“Every coffee company we spoke to knows that coffee is endangered by climate change; we don’t have to explain the problem to them.”

Berber further explains that there are three reasons why customers want to have this alternative to the existing product: They want to have a more affordable option for coffee beans, they want to be able to adjust the caffeine levels to their liking, and lastly, they are looking for a more sustainable option. So Prefer went through a research process that led to a breakthrough discovery where the founders learned that bread, soy, and barley possess molecules similar in flavour to those present in coffee.

Also Read: Coffeefrom: Brewing sustainability from bean to product

To create the beanless coffee, Prefer sources materials in the form of upcycled food manufacturing by-products from local companies, including day-old bread from Gardenia, okara or soybean pulp from Mr Bean, and spent barley grains from local breweries such as The 1925 Brewing Co. and Brewerkz.

Once gathered, these ingredients are blended in a secret ratio before fermentation. It is then roasted in an oven to bring aroma and flavour and grounded to the preferred fineness. This process takes about 48 hours to complete instead of the usual annual harvests, which involves an average of five years for newly planted trees to bear their first crops.

Prefer’s grounds are also caffeine-free, but they can add caffeine derived from tea and adjust the caffeine levels. The company also says that the fermentation process can potentially recreate the flavours of popular beans from Ethiopia and Columbia, enabling consumers to taste coffee similar to beans originating from these countries but without the need for import.

The future of the bean

Prefer was founded in late 2022 by CTO Tan Ding Jie and Berber, who met at the Entrepreneur First programme.

The company received support from Entrepreneur First, A*STAR, and Enterprise Singapore in developing their beanless coffee. It has also recently announced a US$2 million funding round.

Also Read: Turn Capital acquires Flash Coffee’s Thai business

Prefer is currently working with 14 businesses in Singapore. The company primarily works with coffee shops and other food services such as hotels and corporate pantries. While it operates as a B2B company, they are open to the idea of expanding into the B2C model.

After Singapore, Prefer looks forward to expanding to the Philippines and other Asian coffee markets, including Indonesia, Korea, and Japan. It is also looking forward to exploring other products, including cacao.

In recent years, lab-grown food has become one of the more popular segments in the foodtech verticals, with companies producing lab-grown meat and milk being launched and raising funding.

There is an impression that the products are still consumed by a niche market, but when asked about the prospects of lab-grown food and beverages in the global market, Berber was optimistic.

“As climate change continues to wreak havoc on coffee’s ability to grow … a massive part of the population will begin to get priced out of coffee. A small segment of people will continue to buy coffee as it is at whatever price it will be. But for the mass market, for the everyday person, we believe that Prefer will be what we know as the commodity of coffee today, just in the future.”

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Image Credit: Prefer

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