Cocoa

What Cocoa does

Cocoa Corp. is a Holland, Michigan-based sustainable agriculture company founded in 2011 that operates a vertically integrated organic waste recycling and composting business. The company collects biodegradable residuals from businesses and municipalities—including food processing waste, yard waste, wood waste, manure, and bulk liquid food residuals—and processes them at its Holland facility into high-quality humus compost marketed as "Cocoa Compost." Cocoa sells and applies its compost products to conventional and organic farmers, landscapers, and turfgrass operators throughout Michigan, with documented agronomic claims including 10–20% yield improvements, 5x reduction in nitrate leaching, and disease suppression via induced systemic resistance.

Cocoa's underlying technology is a controlled composting process that combines best management practices (BMPs) with best available control technologies (BACTs) to produce biologically enriched humus compost independently tested for pathogens, heavy metals, and nutrients by A&L Great Lakes Laboratories. Distinctive technical features include elevated humic/fulvic acid content, Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) producing auxins, gibberellin, IAA, siderophores, cytokinins, and antibiotics, actinomycete bacteria that reduce continuous corn yield penalty, and a specialized GPS-guided application fleet using flotation tires to minimize soil compaction. The company has extended its product line into Cocoa Liquid Compost, a sprayable/fertigation-ready formulation.

Cocoa operates a B2B enterprise field sales motion. Revenue is generated through two primary streams: organic waste recycling services for businesses and municipalities on multi-year contracts (professional services, quote-based pricing) and Cocoa Compost product sales combined with direct application services for end agricultural and landscaping customers. Distribution is direct via Cocoa-owned fleet and Michigan-only facility. The company is privately held, employs 1–10 people, and has not raised institutional venture or growth capital beyond a single $628,336 round in 2015. Leadership consists of co-founders Adam Brent (CEO) and Craig Coker.

Name

Cocoa

Legal name

Cocoa Corp.

Website

https://cocoa-corp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cocoa Corp. is a Holland, Michigan-based composting company that converts organic waste from businesses and municipalities into biologically enriched humus and liquid compost, selling and applying its products to farmers, landscapers, and turfgrass operators across Michigan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Compost and Soil Amendments

NAICS

Compost Manufacturing (325315), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)

akta.pro primary industry

Compost & Soil Amendment Product Manufacturing/Blending (Value-Added Organics) (BPALAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Compost Product Distribution, Retail & Landscape Supply (Bulk/Bagged) (BPALAEAI), Digestate & Compost Product Processing, Marketing & Distribution (Soil Amendments, Mulch) (EUAIAEAE)

Keywords

• Organic compost manufacturing
• Organic waste recycling
• Humus compost fertilizers
• Compost application services
• Sustainable agriculture inputs

Headquarters

HQ city

Holland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Organic Waste Recycling Services: Cocoa provides comprehensive organic waste collection and processing services for businesses and municipalities on contracted or emergency basis. Services include solid, semi-solid and liquid organic residual collection, transportation, processing, and mobile grinding and hauling services. Revenue is generated through service contracts with waste generators who pay for convenient, cost-effective disposal alternatives.
2. Cocoa Compost Product Sales and Application Services: Cocoa manufactures and sells high-quality organic compost fertilizers to conventional and organic farmers, landscapers, and turf grass operators. Revenue includes product sales combined with application services using their specialized fleet of dump trailers, walking floors, and liquid tankers capable of hauling up to 50 tons of compost products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cocoa Corp. operates a vertically integrated organic waste recycling and compost manufacturing business that collects biodegradable residuals from businesses and municipalities, processes them into biologically enriched high-quality humus compost (Cocoa Compost and Cocoa Liquid Compost), and sells the products combined with GPS-guided on-site application services to conventional and organic farmers, landscapers, and turfgrass operators primarily in Michigan.

Product overview

Cocoa Corp. operates as an organic waste recycling and composting company offering a unified, vertically integrated system. The core offering is the Cocoa Compost System, which encompasses three principal products and services: (1) Organic Waste Recycling Services, which collect and process food residuals, wood waste, yard clippings, manure, and bulk liquid organic residuals from businesses and municipalities; (2) Cocoa Compost (including Cocoa Liquid Compost), a high-quality, biologically enriched humus compost independently tested for crop safety, environmental protection, and public health; and (3) Compost Application Services, providing custom hauling and spreading using GPS-guided, low-compaction equipment. These components work together as a closed-loop system that diverts organic waste from landfills and returns nutrients to soil as fertilizer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cocoa Compost
• Organic Waste Recycling Services
• Compost Application Services
• Cocoa Liquid Compost

Quantifiable outcome

• Increases crop yields by 10-20% compared to chemical fertilizer only treatments
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• A&L Great Lakes LaboratoriescoreTechnology or IntegrationA&L Great Lakes Laboratories provides independent testing and analysis services for Cocoa Compost products, assuring crop and public health safety through testing of biological, physical, and chemical properties including pathogens, heavy metals, nutrients, pH, salts, moisture, organic matter, and stability.
• USDA/NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCocoa partners with USDA/NRCS to enable farmers utilizing Cocoa Compost to qualify for conservation programs. Farmers can receive up to $300,000 over 3 years through the EQIP Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) when enrolled with Cocoa Compost as part of their fertility program.
• Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCocoa is committed to promoting and educating farmers on MAEAP membership benefits. The MAEAP cropping system focuses on nutrient application and management on cultivated fields to ensure crops receive necessary nutrients without excess nutrients in soil or water.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Vermont Compost Company: Premium compost and soil-mix manufacturer focused on horticulture, greenhouse, and specialty-crop markets. Comparable in finished-product formulation philosophy and biological-quality positioning, though it operates at a higher price point in a different geography.
• Suståne Natural Fertilizer: Manufacturer of compost-based natural and organic fertilizers and soil amendments serving agriculture, turf, and horticulture markets. Comparable finished-product portfolio and biological-input positioning, though operating at a different scale and channel mix than Cocoa.
• BioForce / Agriculture Solutions Inc. Distributor of biological soil amendments, compost teas, and microbial inputs for conventional and organic growers. Comparable to Cocoa on the biological-soil-amendment side of the portfolio, though it focuses on distribution rather than operating its own composting facilities.

Direct peers

• Black Earth Compost: Northeast US hauler-composter offering curbside and commercial food-waste collection plus bagged and bulk compost products to homeowners, landscapers, and farms. Comparable vertically integrated waste-to-compost operating model and B2B/B2C agricultural customer mix to Cocoa.
• McGill Composting & Organics Recycling: Wisconsin-based commercial composter producing organic soil amendments from food and yard waste and serving Midwest agricultural customers. Closely comparable to Cocoa in business model (integrated waste-to-compost), product (humus-style compost), and regional Midwest agricultural customer base.
• Denali Water Solutions: Organics recycling company operating multiple regional facilities that convert industrial food-processing residuals into compost and soil products. Comparable to Cocoa in source-feedstock profile (food processing residuals) and commercial/industrial waste-diverting compost operations.
• Morgan Composting / Dairy Doo: Michigan-based compost and soil amendment manufacturer serving conventional and organic farmers across the Midwest with products like Dairy Doo and Nature's Guide. Most direct geographic competitor to Cocoa given overlapping Michigan footprint and similar farmer-focused compost/biological product portfolio.
• Cedar Grove Composting: Large-scale Pacific Northwest composter operating enclosed in-vessel facilities that convert municipal and commercial organic waste into compost and soil products. Highly comparable to Cocoa in the integrated waste-collection-to-compost model and quality-tested finished product positioning.
• Recology Organics: Organics recycling division of Recology focused on collecting and composting commercial and residential food and yard waste across the Western US. Directly comparable integrated waste-pickup-and-compost-manufacturing business model to Cocoa.

Broad incumbents

• Waste Management (Organics Services): National waste hauler offering residential and commercial organics collection and composting across dozens of US markets. Broader incumbent competing with Cocoa for municipal and commercial organic waste contracts, though it does not focus on premium agricultural compost products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cocoa