Jake Berber’s bean-free coffee and cocoa show that climate adaptation can taste the same while lightening the planet’s load

“I break the rule of building in silence until perfection,” Jake Berber says this with the ease of someone who has long outgrown the fear of failure. At 29, the CEO of Prefer is rewriting the rules of food innovation by treating transparency not as a risk but as a strategy.

“In my industry of flavours and ingredients, the industry can feel like a black box. It’s conventional to wait until a product is finished before sharing anything. I tend to do the opposite. I build in public. I post our wins, our failures, and share half-ready products. I send samples before we are completely sure they are commercial-ready because customer feedback matters most.”

Prefer, the company he co-founded with Tan Ding Jie, makes bean-free coffee and cocoa through fermentation technology, a response to the increasingly fragile state of global agriculture. Climate change is already shrinking yields and pushing prices up. Without alternatives, Berber warns, staples like coffee and chocolate could become luxuries reserved for the wealthy.

Prefer’s approach offers an ingredient that tastes like the real thing, works in the same supply chains, but comes with a fraction of the carbon footprint. As Berber puts it: “Take Prefer out of the equation and the problem is still sitting there, unsolved, waiting for someone to fix it. That is why we are here.”

Still, the company’s mission is often misread. “The laziest assumption is that we are anti-coffee and chocolate,” he says, almost amused. The term “bean-free” sets off alarms for traditionalists, conjuring images of a future where cocoa farms vanish and coffee shops no longer grind beans.

“That is not what we are building. We want coffee and chocolate to last, not end. Our products are designed to be blended with coffee and cocoa, allowing companies to stretch limited supplies and keep prices stable. What we are really doing is buying time.”

Impact over profit

Such clarity did not emerge without detours. “We have made plenty of mistakes, but I would not undo any of them,” Berber admits. Early launches went out before the science was fully stable. Promising opportunities were passed over. There were pivots and false starts. Yet none of it registers as regret.

Today, what success looks like for him cannot be plotted on a financial graph. “For me, success is climate impact at scale. If Prefer can help make the planet liveable for longer, we have done our job.” Coffee and chocolate, in his view, are case studies in a larger question: how to preserve beloved foods in the face of ecological collapse.

“Success means seeing Prefer ingredients show up in products on shelves across the globe and people enjoying them. The coffee tastes like coffee, the chocolate tastes like chocolate, and the planet breathes a little easier.”

The ambition carries weight, but Berber does not present himself as ascetic or joyless. “My friends, my family, and my inner critic keep me grounded. I spend as much time with my friends, family, and girlfriend as I can; they remind me that life is more than work.”

Then he laughs at his final admission: “And then there is my inner critic. It is not always the kindest voice, but that fuel burns hot. Some days it burns a little too hot, but I would rather have that fire than none at all.” 

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Unfinished by design

His is a portrait of a founder who does not romanticise the grind yet accepts its demands. Building Prefer has meant walking into uncertainty, but also resisting the culture of secrecy that defines much of food tech. Instead of unveiling polished perfection, Berber prefers showing the scaffolding — the unfinished, the imperfect, the trial runs.

The community around Prefer, from early adopters to curious sceptics, feels less like an audience and more like collaborators in the experiment.

This spirit of inclusion may be what the future demands. Berber’s forecast is blunt: “Coffee, cocoa, and other key ingredients will not look the same ten years from now. Supply is going to get tighter before it gets better. Climate change is not slowing down, prices will keep climbing, and companies will be forced to adapt. The future will be about blending what we can still grow with new technologies that fill the gaps.” 

For now, Berber seems content to be out ahead, inviting critique rather than shying from it. He does not talk like someone interested in guarding secrets or hoarding advantage. He talks like someone convinced that survival requires collective invention.

The challenge is immense, but so too is the conviction. “The good news is that this future can still be delicious, affordable, and sustainable,” he says. “That is the future we are building for.”

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