Cocoa

Based in Michigan, Cocoa converts organic waste materials using a proprietary recycling process to produce compost fertilizer for the agriculture, landscaping, and turf industries. The company offers a recycling service called “Organic Waste Recycling” to waste generators including municipalities, farms, and packaged goods manufacturers to collect all forms of organic waste including solid, semi-solid, and liquid waste on a contractual or emergency basis. The waste is then recycled to produce the company’s biofertilizer product “Cocoa Compost.”  Cocoa Compost is a humus compost (broken down organic matter) that is a chemical fertilizer alternative, enriched with microorganisms, which provides nutrients, plant-growth hormones, and humic acid to improve soil health, crop yields, provide protection against crop diseases, and reduce costs.

The company claims that for every 1% of compost added, the soil water storage capacity increases by up to 20,000 gallons per acre foot (equivalent to 1” of rainfall). Studies also found that soils supplemented with Cocoa compost in addition to fertilizer resulted in increases in corn yields (+10%) and stover yields (6%) and also improved water and fertilizer use efficiency by 10% compared to soils using only fertilizer. The fertilizer also claims to be environmentally friendly due to its higher nutrient holding capacity and ability to reduce runoff and chemical usage and carbon dioxide sequestration (up to 2 tons per acre of composted soil).

Cocoa operates what is reportedly the largest composting facility in the Midwest and has stated plans to construct a network of composting facilities across the region.

Cocoa's last round of funding was in June 2015, where it raised USD 628,000 in seed funding. Prior to that, in 2014,  the company also secured a USD 150,000 convertible bridge loan facility to support its expansion plans.