WNWN Wins Best Demo in Häagen-Dazs Start-Up Innovation Challenge

Selected from 160+ companies to present technologies and ingredients for iconic ice cream brand

 

LONDON – 6 July, 2023 – WNWN Food Labs, the first to bring cocoa-free chocolate to market, today announced it won ‘Best Demo’ in the Häagen-Dazs Start-Up Innovation Challenge, a competition by EIT Food, the world’s largest food innovation community, to address key challenges in environmental sustainability and health.

WNWN presented its developments to Häagen-Dazs (a brand of General Mills) in the category of ice cream with the lowest carbon footprint in the final phase of the competition on 13 June at the Arras Technical Center in Arras, France, the hub of innovation for the Häagen-Dazs brand.

WNWN offered nine preparations using its cocoa-free chocolate including three versions of choc hazelnut ice cream: a treat encased in WNWN’s smooth vegan milk choc/hazelnut shell with WNWN’s choc chips inside; in a tub; and smaller, bite-sized pieces. (For images visit https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yOZMoDCr79-MBF_iojd1bqGxmabImQAm?usp=sharing)

“The numbers don’t lie: chocolate itself generates more emissions per kilogram than dairy, so switching just that one ingredient dramatically reduces ice cream’s overall carbon footprint without requiring any other production changes,” said WNWN CEO Ahrum Pak. “Our cocoa-free chocolate is a simple one-to-one replacement for the chocolate formats General Mills currently uses.”

WNWN and nine other companies were selected as finalists from more than 160 start-ups from across Europe and partner countries.

WNWN employs a proprietary fermentation process to transform widely available plant-based ingredients like cereals and legumes to create cocoa-free choc that tastes, melts, snaps and bakes just like conventional chocolate. It is vegan, caffeine-free, gluten-free, palm oil-free, and lower in sugar than comparable products.

According to an internal lifecycle analysis WNWN’s dark choc emits 80-90% less greenhouse gases than conventional chocolate, and does not contribute to deforestation, habitat destruction, and unfair labour practices like the conventional chocolate supply chain. Cocoa crops are also highly vulnerable due to climate change, including rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, which has led experts to predict chocolate shortages in the coming years as well as higher prices.

 

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About WNWN Food Labs (WNWN)

WNWN, a UK food tech startup addressing critical problems in food supply chains, creates a win-win situation for consumers, workers, producers, and the planet. The London-based food tech company uses fermentation to transform plant-based whole foods and unloved ingredients into delicious, sustainable foods. For more information visit www.wnwnfoodlabs.com.

 

About EIT Food 

EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community. Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe, EIT Food accelerates innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all. EIT Food invests in projects, organisations and individuals that share its goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. It unlocks innovation potential in businesses and universities, and creates and scales agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. It equips entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and puts consumers at the heart of its work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food. Find out more at www.eitfood.eu.

 

About General Mills Häagen-Dazs

General Mills is a major player in the agri-food sector for more than 150 years, whose brand portfolio includes more than 100 brands around the world, including Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Nature Valley and Fiber One. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy by boldly building its brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing its scale and being a force for good. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2022 net sales of U.S. $19 billion. For 30 years, Häagen-Dazs ice creams have been made near Arras, in the north of France. Today, its manufacturing site produces 75 million liters of ice cream per year, exported to 90 countries around the world. Last year, the group invested in a brand-new Global Research & Development Center. Located close to its production site, the Arras Technical Center (ATC) is the hub of innovation for the Häagen-Dazs brand. It is led by an international team of experts responsible for developing new concepts, technologies and flavors, while continuing to select the best ingredients, guarantee high-quality standards and contribute to the group’s corporate social responsibility objectives.

 

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Contact:

Gary Smith

Evolotus PR

818-783-0569

gary@evolotuspr.com