RECOCOA
Technology

A processing platform, not a product.

ReCocoa is building an IP fortress around a protected industrial route to characterised bioactive flavanols, engineered for retention, standardisation and scale. The route is designed to produce Botanical Medical Foods and Drugs carrying Heart Health Claims. We begin with diabetes and hypertension, two conditions of significant concern.

Scientific graphic of a flavanol molecular structure over a vascular network
Process

Five stages from botanical input to health application.

  1. STAGE 01

    Natural Cacao

    Traceable botanical input, selected for flavanol profile.

  2. STAGE 02

    Proprietary Processing

    UK & EU Patents approved, route designed to preserve bioactives.

  3. STAGE 03

    Bioactive Flavanols

    Standardised, analytically characterised fractions.

  4. STAGE 04

    Scientific Validation

    Third party assay and independent validation study completed.

  5. STAGE 05

    Future Health Applications

    Multiple delivery formats and categories.

Design Principles

Four engineering commitments behind the platform.

01

Retention

Conventional cocoa processing degrades flavanols. Our patented route is designed to protect the flavanols, stimulants, dense nutrients and dietary fibres in the input material. The fibres act as a prebiotic. Retaining these components, and their combined effect, is the primary engineering objective.

02

Standardisation

Reproducible composition is the precondition for scientific evaluation, regulatory dialogue and licensing.

03

Scalability

Designed for industrial bioprocessing and advanced manufacturing rather than artisanal batch production.

04

Defensibility

Intellectual Property and approved Claims covering process and composition, developed with specialist life sciences legal counsel.

Conventional fermentation, roasting and alkalisation are documented to degrade epicatechin and catechin substantially, so retention is treated as an engineering objective rather than a marketing attribute.1 Process and composition data are available to partners under confidentiality.

Why does this matter?

EFSA has authorised a claim that 200 mg of cocoa flavanols daily helps maintain endothelium-dependent vasodilation, and human studies identify (−)-epicatechin as the mediating molecule. Conventional processing degrades exactly that fraction, so the bottleneck is retention and standardisation, not botany.

Why now?

Analytical capability, industrial bioprocessing and regulatory frameworks for medical foods and natural therapeutics have matured together for the first time.

Why ReCocoa?

A processing route designed for retention and standardisation from the outset, developed within a UK industrial biotechnology and advanced manufacturing context.

References

  1. 01Payne MJ, Hurst WJ, Miller KB, et al.. Impact of fermentation, drying, roasting and Dutch processing on epicatechin and catechin content of cacao beans and cocoa ingredients. J Agric Food Chem 2010;58(19):10518–10527. Source
  2. 02EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to cocoa flavanols and maintenance of normal endothelium-dependent vasodilation. EFSA Journal 2012;10(7):2809. Source
  3. 03Schroeter H, Heiss C, Balzer J, et al.. (−)-Epicatechin mediates beneficial effects of flavanol-rich cocoa on vascular function in humans. PNAS 2006;103(4):1024–1029. Source
  4. 04Sesso HD, Manson JE, Aragaki AK, et al.. Effect of cocoa flavanol supplementation for the prevention of cardiovascular disease events: the COSMOS randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2022;115(6):1490–1500. Source