Suitefood (Coccola)

Short Description

Every day, billions of people consume more sugar than their bodies can handle. The result is plain to see: 589 million adults worldwide live with diabetes, a number set to rise to 640 million by 2030. Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and a disrupted gut microbiome. Sugar suppresses the satiety mechanisms mediated by GLP-1. It is the first silent health emergency of our time. Fifty countries have already responded with a sugar tax.

The food industry has scrambled to find alternatives with natural and synthetic sweeteners up to 300 times sweeter than sugar. But stevia, erythritol, and sucralose leave a bitter aftertaste, compromise the microbiome, and, being so sweet, alter the response to GLP-1. The solution has created a new problem.

Coccola solves it. It is a 100% natural, patented coconut powder that eliminates the bitter aftertaste without adding sweetness but rather functionality. It doesn’t mask: it unlocks the flavor through a non-covalent reaction between the formulation’s bioactive fatty acids and bitter polyphenols, and naturally activates the feeling of fullness thanks to the medium-chain fats it contains. Clean label, compatible with any reformulation. The ingredient that allows the food industry to reduce sugar without sacrificing taste.

Business & Revenue Model

SUITEFOOD® SRL is a deep-tech ingredients company. We sell patented technology to the food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries. Our business model mirrors that of major ingredients companies—Givaudan, IFF, Kerry Group—offering technical solutions integrated into the customer’s recipes, recurring supply agreements, and multi-year contracts. We do the same within a specific vertical: sugar reduction.

The typical client is a food, beverage, nutraceutical, or oral care manufacturer that needs to reduce sugar without compromising taste. Average volume: 20 tons/year per client. Average revenue: €100K/year. Expected gross margin at full scale: 10–50%, in line with the specialized ingredients sector.

Priority geographic area: Italy, Germany, UK. Secondary market: United Arab Emirates, experiencing strong growth in demand for premium functional ingredients.

Secondary channel: pharmacies and nutraceuticals. The connection to GLP-1 stimulation and the low glycemic impact profile open up a market with higher pricing and double-digit growth.

Production: contract manufacturing with the pharmaceutical chemical industry. Zero direct industrial capex. Intellectual property entirely owned by SUITEFOOD® SRL. We operate with economies of scale.

Traction

The formula has been scientifically validated and approved for mass production in June 2025, following the extension of the international PCT patent and regulatory review. It is ready for the scale-up phase.

Intellectual property: January 2025 Italian patent No. 102025000001257 and January 2026 PCT/EP2026/051435, active protection in 15+ markets. Preclinical study (Cro Alliance, n=3): glycemic response never exceeding 5.2 mmol/L.

Pharmacy channel: active contract with MyFARMA (200 pharmacies). Amazon Nutraceutica active in Italy, Germany, and the UK. Pharmaceutical distributor operational.

B2B ingredients channel: contract signed with IP Ingredients for the Italian food industry. Foodiverse for white-label distribution in the UAE.

White label and foodservice: contract signed with Foodness — ingredient in sachets available in approximately 10,000 bars.

Industrial pipeline: LOI signed with confectionery industry. LOI in progress for beverages and nutraceuticals.

Awards: World Food Innovation Awards 2026 and 2025 (London), World Coffee Innovation Award 2025, Top 4 Global Sugar Reduction Startups (Food Navigator), 100 Italian Excellence Awards 2025.

Roadmap and Development Plan

2026  Formulation consolidation for the industry. Completion of the R&D team: addition of 1 Peruvian botanical expert, 1 carbohydrate researcher, and 1 food materials engineer. Signing of an agreement with a European university for a dedicated chemical laboratory. Initiation of a clinical trial for a health claim (nutraceuticals). Production scale-up via pharmaceutical contract manufacturing. Preparation of GRAS (FDA) filing for US market launch.

2027  Business expansion into Italy, Germany, the UK, and the UAE. Onboarding of 10+ B2B ingredient partners. Interim results from the clinical trial, providing the initial basis for health claims in the nutraceutical sector. U.S. market launch at Expo West (March 2027), North America’s leading natural food trade show.

2028  Completion of the clinical trial and approval of the health claim. Entry into the French and DACH markets. Strategic partnership with a flavor house or international ingredient group. Positioning as the industry standard for natural sugar reduction in the European food industry.

Funding Need & Use of Funds

Funding round: €2.5 million in SAFE, with a target closing date of 2027. The investment enables three key milestones for growth: completing the scientific team to fulfill our value proposition—serving as technology partners for sugar reduction and reformulation—consolidating intellectual property, and initiating the clinical process for health claims.

Use of funds:

— Expansion of the R&D platform and extraction laboratory

— International PCT patent protection

— Clinical studies for proprietary nutraceutical applications

• International expansion

The plan covers a 24-month post-round timeline, with the goal of achieving the first interim clinical results and onboarding 10 or more B2B ingredient partners by the end of 2027.

Team & Cap Table

The team is the reason this technology exists and can scale.

Emmanuela Alesiani, CEO & Founder
Over 20 years in the food & beverage industry. Former Innovation Manager at Carrefour. Inventor of the Coccola patent. Y Combinator Startup School alumna.

Pierluigi Alesiani, Co-Founder:
PhD in Environmental Engineering R&D

Daniele Tirelli – Founding Partner
Economist, PhD from the European University Institute (EUI)

Francesco Pezcoller, Founding Partner
M&A

Silvia D’Alesio, Head of R&D
Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology, International Master’s in Food Innovation and Product Design (Erasmus Mundus). Researcher at the Politecnico di Milano, CMIC Department, ONFOODS project. Professor of Ecodesign at NABA. Member of the Red Dot Award 2026 jury.

Francesca Raddi, Head of Marketing
Marketing Manager with experience in food & beverage, large-scale retail, and hospitality. Integrated B2B and consumer communications.

Cristina Monti, Head of Sales
MBA earned in the United States. She has lived and worked on three continents: the US, Argentina, and Indonesia. Background closely tied to the Tetra Pak industry.

This is not an academic team looking for a market. It is a market-driven team with a scientific foundation at the European level.

Cap table 

ESOP: Piano opzioni per il team operativo da € 200K

Social/Environmental Issues and Impact

589 million adults live with diabetes. By 2030, that number will reach 640 million. Obesity affects over 1 billion people. This is not a matter of individual choice: it is the result of a system that has overused sugar as a flavor enhancer.

COCCOLA® enables real sugar reduction in mass-market products. Not a niche product: a B2B ingredient that operates at the scale of the food and nutraceutical industries.

Impact on three levels. Public health: suitable for diabetics. Accessibility: makes it feasible for large manufacturers to launch sugar-reduced products that actually work. Sustainability: natural, clean label, compatible with organic certifications, produced to pharmaceutical standards. Female-led company: patent held by a woman.

Metrics tracked: sugar reduction in reformulated products, glycemic response, SKUs brought to market. SDGs: 3, 12, 2.

Financial Structure

Equity raised to date: €800K through an SFP round (pursuant to Article 29 of Ministerial Decree of May 7, 2019).

— LaGemma Venture: €425K — 53.1%

— Smart Business Angels: €375K — 46.9%

Debt: €20K

Grants: none.