NOTCH is a 100% cocoa-free alternative to chocolate, created from brewer’s spent grain – a by-product of beer brewing, primarily consisting of barley. Globally, more than 40 million tons are produced every year. Most of it ends up as animal feed, yet it holds lots of untapped flavor potential.

At the same time, the chocolate industry is under massive pressure. Climate change and deforestation affect both people and biodiversity, plant diseases plague cacao plantations, and the price of cocoa has more than doubled in three years.

The innovation center Spora was founded by Rasmus Munk in 2023 as a natural evolution of the creative and disruptive universe at restaurant Alchemist in Copenhagen. Spora’s mission is to create new sustainable, scalable, and above all delicious foods for the future.

NOTCH originates from Spora’s work with upcycling. The chefs and scientists at Spora have developed a method for processing spent grain so it can be used in the same way as cocoa beans in traditional chocolate production. The grain is dried, blended, and roasted to enhance the deep, nutty flavors. It is then combined and conched with deforestation-free plant fats, muscovado sugar, and natural ingredients such as vanilla and chicory root until they form a silky mass that can be tempered and molded just like chocolate.

The result is an indulgent treat with the same snap, texture, and depth of flavor, we associate with chocolate.