As global demand for coffee increases, its environmental impact is hard to ignore: A single cup of coffee requires 37 gallons of water to grow, process and transport coffee beans. Seattle-based startup Atomo Coffee is showing there may be a better way to create an eco-friendly cup—by removing the bean entirely.
After 25 years in the tech startup space, Atomo Co-Founder and CEO Andy Kleitsch wanted to tackle a problem that would benefit the planet.
“I went out and started interviewing friends, entrepreneurs and engineers, looking for the best idea I could find to make the world a better place,” Kleitsch said.
Collaborating with a food scientist, Kleitsch took on the ambitious task of reverse-engineering coffee’s molecular composition—figuring out what makes coffee look, taste and smell like coffee—and recreating it with sustainable ingredients. Their early brewing operations began in a garage, where an initial Kickstarter campaign quickly caught the attention of investors. “It was kind of a wild idea, but it actually worked,” Kleitsch said. “Within days, we had venture capitalists flying out to see us in our garage.”
Atomo has since pioneered extraction technology that transforms farm-grown superfoods and upcycled ingredients into traditional coffee’s molecular equivalent. Their proprietary blend combines date pits, sunflower seeds and other sustainable ingredients with caffeine from green tea leaves, matching traditional coffee’s taste while adding antioxidant-rich benefits.
To learn more about how J.P. Morgan supports sustainable startups like Atomo, connect with one of our Startup Banking experts.
Brewing up big business with J.P. Morgan
Consumer demand for planet-friendly products is growing, but there is one thing they won’t compromise on. “When it comes to sustainable food, it really comes down to taste,” Kleitsch said. “You won’t switch your eating behaviors if it doesn’t taste good.”
Hoping to ease consumers into bean-free coffee, Atomo created a hybrid blend—combining 50% traditional Arabica beans with their beanless innovation. It outperformed a leading coffee chain in a blind taste test at the University of Washington. This success is fueling expansion: The U.S. coffee chain Bluestone Lane now offers Atomo products across its 58 locations, while a new roastery scales up beanless espresso production.
Andy Kleitsch giving attendees a taste of his product at the Green Economy
Sustainable Foods Showcase.
Atomo showcased its innovation at the fall 2024 J.P. Morgan Sustainable Foods Showcase, connecting with fellow foodtech founders, investors, food suppliers and renowned chefs.
This event exemplifies how the Green Economy Banking team champions companies focused on scaling decarbonization technologies to help the planet.
“For foodtech companies, developing a great product is just step one,” said Kelly Belcher, head of Climate Tech for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking. “They spend a lot of time in labs perfecting their products, trying to get them into the right distribution channels. That’s where J.P. Morgan can really make a difference for founders, by helping them get exposure to thought leaders, investors and industry contacts with whom they wouldn’t normally cross paths.”
That understanding of innovative companies proves crucial for founders like Kleitsch.
“As a startup founder, there are only a handful of banks you’re really going to want to work with on this journey,” Kleitsch said. “J.P. Morgan understands what founders are going through, and that lets them put together the programs and the tools that appeal to us and actually solve our problems.”
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