Seoul Startup Wake Raises Pre‑Series A to Scale Beanless Fermented Coffee

Wake, a Seoul-based food tech startup, closed a pre-Series A funding round on January 16, 2026 to scale Sans, its fermented, beanless coffee alternative. The raise is intended to expand manufacturing capacity, open a New York tasting store, and accelerate product development as the company pushes a sustainability-focused alternative into specialty coffee channels and wider retail.

Sans is built from a 12-ingredient botanical base that includes jujube seed, chicory, and rosehip. Wake pairs traditional Korean fermentation techniques with what it calls molecular hacking to recreate coffee-like aroma and mouthfeel without roasted Arabica beans. The company reports that Sans uses up to 76% less water and reduces emissions by about 60% compared with conventional coffee, figures that frame the product as a lower-impact option for cafés, retailers, and consumers looking to shrink their cup’s environmental footprint.

Manufacturing scale is a central focus. Wake plans staged expansion that targets roughly 400 tons per year in planned steps. The company will use the new capital to build capacity and to develop sensory and caffeine profiles suited to the market. Wake says it will tune caffeine delivery using natural caffeine boosters and roll out formats designed for different occasions, pointing to a roadmap that includes both product innovation and new go-to-market experiments such as the New York tasting space.

For the coffee community, Sans represents both a sensory experiment and an operational challenge. Sensory design in an alternative product requires recreating body, acidity, and roast-derived aroma without the same chemical precursors found in green coffee. Fermentation introduces terroir-like variability, which complicates consistent cup quality at scale. Sourcing a reliable supply of botanicals such as jujube seed and rosehip while meeting food-safety standards adds another layer to Wake’s scale-up work.

The move also raises practical questions for cafés and roasters considering beanless options: how Sans will fit into workflow, what extraction or preparation techniques best showcase its mouthfeel, and how labeling and pricing will position the product to consumers who care about origin stories and brew ritual. The New York tasting store will likely function as a testing ground for these operational and sensory questions.

Wake’s stated sustainability positioning and its technical approach make Sans a notable addition to the growing field of coffee alternatives. For readers, the immediate takeaway is that a commercial, fermented, beanless product is advancing toward higher-volume production and on-the-ground tasting opportunities. Expect to see sensory experiments in cafes and pop-ups first, with wider availability tied to how Wake solves scaling and supply chain consistency.