Munich Startup: What is your StartupWhat problem are you solving?
Hello Coffee: Ciao Coffee has developed a more sustainable, healthier, and more functional coffee. The coffee does not use coffee beans, but uses high-quality European grains instead. Ciao Coffee is certified iced coffee and will launch a black instant coffee in summer 2025. Ciao Coffee relies on an omnichannel strategy and sells its products both in retail stores (Rewe, Edeka, Billa) and online.
Global coffee consumption faces major challenges:
- Rainforest deforestation: Coffee cultivation contributes massively to deforestation. 20 percent of the Brazilian rainforest has already been destroyed—an area five times the size of Germany.
- Water consumption: Approximately 20,000 liters of water are needed to produce one kilogram of coffee. In many growing regions, this leads to water shortages and environmental pollution.
- CO2 footprint: While consumption takes place primarily in Europe and North America, the beans come from South America, Africa or Asia – with correspondingly long transport routes.
- Loss of arable land due to climate change: We are already feeling the effects of rising demand and falling yields in coffee cultivation – the price of coffee is exploding.
Ciao Coffee solves these problems by offering a more sustainable alternative with less sugar, no caffeic acid, and added nutrients such as vitamin B complex and iron.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Hello Coffee: No, Ciao Coffee is Germany's first and only iced coffee without coffee beans. While there are caffeine-free alternatives or malt coffees, there's no comparable iced coffee with a full flavor that's more sustainable and healthier. In addition to caffeine, Ciao Coffee also offers an additional vitamin boost that supports the caffeine's effectiveness.
Founders have startup experience
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Hello Coffee: Ciao Coffee was founded in early 2024 by former Yfood executives. The founding team has extensive experience in building and scaling food & beverage startups. The team has strong industry connections and covers a broad spectrum of expertise. Since the founding team consists of passionate coffee enthusiasts themselves and has studied the challenges of the coffee industry in depth, they decided to develop an alternative to conventional coffee.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Hello Coffee: These included:
- Production & Scaling: Developing a bean-free coffee based on European ingredients while still achieving an authentic taste was technically challenging. Scalability of the sourcing and production process had to be considered from the very beginning.
- Market entry & listings: Convincing retailers to accept a completely new product was challenging. Despite this, Ciao is already present in over 250 markets.
- Financing & Growth: Following the pre-seed financing in 2024, ciao plans another financing round in 2025 to drive expansion.
International expansion & diverse product range
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Hello Coffee: In one year (2026):
- Establishment with the largest retail chains in the DACH region
- Further development of the product portfolio (e.g. filter coffee) and new flavors
- Market leader for beanless coffee in Germany
- Building brand awareness through ever-increasing distribution, as well as through brand & performance marketing
In five years (2030):
- Expansion into new sales channels (gastronomy, B2B, OOH)
- International expansion into the largest European coffee markets
- Offering the complete coffee spectrum up to the “coffee bean” (coffee bean extrudate), which can be processed in conventional coffee machines
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Hello Coffee: Munich is a great location for us. The feedback from people here has been great from the very beginning – both from customers and from the startup scene. The city offers a strong network for founders, especially in the food sector, and direct access to major retail chains like Rewe and Edeka has been a great help.
Munich Startup: Outsource or do it yourself?
Hello Coffee: Ciao Coffee relies on a mixed strategy:
- Product development is in-house: The development know-how is internal – the recipe is secret and the individual components are delivered to the contract manufacturers as a black box.
- Bottling and logistics are outsourced to take advantage of economies of scale and to be able to grow flexibly without major and capital-intensive investments.
- Marketing and sales are managed internally, but are currently implemented with external partners. In the long term, resources will be increasingly brought in-house.
