9 Innovative Coffee Startups to Follow in 2023

Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the most exciting coffee startups of 2023 that startup-lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.

Disclaimer: With so many exciting coffee companies launching and growing worldwide, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.

• Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Funding: Series Unknown, $7.2 Million

Minneapolis’ Bizzy Coffee is focused on one particular type of coffee: cold brew. Their process starts with ethically-sourced beans that are coarse ground and then micro-sifted for a good, consistent brew. All products are 100% organic and sustainably produced. They are available as ground coffee, brew bags, and ready-to-drink bottles of cold brew.

Listen to our interview with the founder of Bizzy Coffee below!

• Location: Henan, China
• Funding: Series B, $20.1 Million

Through an offline self-pickup coffee shop service, Chinese startup Secre Coffee offers innovative products, such as “small color book freeze-dried instant coffee” and small package single punch coffee beans. In a country where coffee is quickly becoming a daily drink, no longer limited to just social functions, Secre hopes to give its customers a fast and affordable way to purchase the best coffee products. In addition, they are the first domestic Chinese coffee brand to achieve online and offline closed-loop operations.

• Location: Seattle, Washington
• Funding: Series A, $51.6 Million

Climate change already affects “luxury” food items, such as coffee and chocolate. Atomo Foods aims to future-proof those items. Using molecular technology, Atomo has created a coffee without coffee beans. Their “bean,” made using granulated date pip and other key compounds, grinds, and brews just like a regular coffee bean. Their products are currently sold in cans and should be enjoyed chilled.

Explore more top startups in Seattle.

• Location: New York, New York
• Funding: Series Unknown, $17.7 Million

Wandering Bear Coffee has one goal: to make really strong coffee that tastes good. The company is the first to make boxed cold brew, and its products stay fresh in the fridge for up to 30 days after opening. In addition to boxes, Wandering Bear also sells beans, pods, and cartons. All coffees are 100% organic, sugar-free, and packaged to be recyclable.

Discover more top startups in NYC.

• Location: Oakland, California
• Funding: Series A, $41.8 Million

California food startup Voyage Foods is on a mission to reinvent two of the world’s favorite things: coffee and chocolate. Their vision is to create a future where enjoying food and drink is never constrained by problems with cultivation or production. That means products like cocoa-free chocolate and bean-free coffee. The brand launched a peanutless peanut butter in 2021, and consumers can expect both chocolate and coffee in 2022.

Feeling inspired? Learn how to launch your company with our guide on how to start a startup.

• Location: Bellevue, Washington
• Funding: Private Equity, $35.1 Million

Nutpods isn’t a coffee startup, per se, but it is a coffee-adjacent startup. The brand, which you’ve likely already seen in stores, offers a dairy-free alternative to half-and-half. Their products are made out of almonds and coconuts, and, unlike most other dairy alternatives, they are “infinitely frothable.” Nutpods creamers work well with any coffee drink, including espresso and cappuccino.

• Location: Bogotá, Colombia
• Funding: Equity Crowdfunding, $166,500

Frank de Paula’s journey began on Kickstarter with a product called the “FrankOne.” Today, their innovative machine is called the “VacOne,” but it still offers the same patented brewing technology. As the world’s first vacuum brewer, the VacOne uses vacuum pumps to brew hot coffee or cold brew in just four minutes. The result is a complex, smooth brew in record time.

• Location: Cairo, Egypt
• Funding: Seed, N/A

Egyptian startup Cupmena is an agritech and waste management company focused on used coffee grounds; its mission is to create a value chain for the used grounds based on their many uses. What's that mean? They're using old coffee grounds to grow different types of mushrooms, and the used mushroom soil is later recycled as organic fertilizer for other crops. The process offers a clean way to dispose of coffee waste and help the environment.

• Location: Sacramento, California
• Funding: Non-Equity Assistance, Unknown

Sacramento-based coffee supplier Exilior Coffee is not your average coffee startup. The family-owned business with a Kenyan heritage seeks to repair Kenya's broken, unbalanced coffee supply chain. Every purchase from Exilior helps support their partner farmers, so they can earn living wages and help support causes for youth, women, and the environment. They currently offer whole bean coffee in several varieties.

Recommended: Check out our full list of the top startups to watch!