By SGN | Updated 2 Jul 2025
Jake Berber can’t live without his coffee: two cups in the morning, and one more to fight the afternoon slump. Now, he’s focused on ensuring that coffee remains affordable, even as the global supply dwindles, and demand continues to rise.
Previously a neuroscientist leading a biotech clinical team, the American switched gears to invest in food tech startups at a venture capital firm while pursuing an entrepreneurship MBA in Tel Aviv. During his last semester, he went on exchange to Singapore, where his journey took another pivotal turn. He joined a startup incubator and became fixated on one of the most pressing issues of our time – climate change. He became obsessed with using food technology as a lever to have climate impact at scale.
“Coffee is simultaneously the biggest problem crop and market opportunity of today,” he explains. “Due to climate change, 50% of the land that grows coffee today will not be able to do so by 2050. In that same time period, the demand for coffee is expected to triple.
“Prefer is here to help solve that problem.”
Meeting the Prince of Fermentation
Prefer came to life thanks to meeting in Entrepreneur First.
Jake arrived in Singapore in July 2022 for the exchange programme to finish his studies at NUS Business School. Just a month later, he joined the 12th Singapore cohort of the Entrepreneur First accelerator program, where he met Ding Jie Tan, his future co-founder.
The Texas native soon learnt that Ding Jie was, in certain circles, known as the Prince of Fermentation. Besides working as a food scientist at A*STAR, he also ran the food consultancy Starter Culture, creating new fermented products for Michelin-starred restaurants and top cocktail bars in Singapore such as Jigger & Pony and Labyrinth.
“We quickly realised we shared a common belief in using fermentation technology to build an affordable and sustainable food system,” Jake explains. “The next step was figuring out the best way to apply it.”
Flavour forward, coffee first
Jake and Ding Jie refined their vision through extensive brainstorming sessions and consultations with mentors such as Didier Vermeiren, their programme advisor, and Bernadette Cho, COO of Open Government Products. They also sought insights from established plant-based companies like Next Gen Foods.
“One key conversation was with one of Singapore’s fastest-growing coffee chains, where we learned that the price of coffee had been rising due to an unusual weather freeze in Brazil the previous year.” Jake says.
“This got us thinking: Could we create coffee without using traditional coffee beans?”
Late one night, inspiration struck. The co-founders decided to establish themselves as a flavour company, with fermentation as their weapon, and coffee as their first target.
“While we thought our biggest value proposition was creating a more sustainable coffee, our real value was that we would be a reliable source of coffee, regardless of extreme weather.” Jake says.
Ding Jie’s impressive expertise in flavour creation through fermentation and his extensive network in the food and beverage industry, combined with Jake’s market insights and scientific background, placed them in a good position to transform the coffee sector.
The essence of Prefer
“The name ‘Prefer’ stands for ‘precision fermentation,’ the main technology we use for flavour creation,” Jake explains. “We also hope the name encourages people to choose our product, which offers a delicious, affordable, and sustainable alternative to traditional coffee beans.”
Since beanless coffee was a relatively new concept, Jake and Ding Jie had to start from the ground up. They meticulously screened hundreds of potential feedstocks and microbes before finally refining their unique formulation.
“Prefer’s bean-free coffee leverages a unique blend of upcycled ingredients,” Jake shares. “These include day-old bread from Gardenia, soybean pulp from Mr. Bean, and spent barley grains from local beer breweries such as Brewerkz and The 1975 Brewing Co.”
The ingredients are blended, fermented with food-grade microbes, and then roasted to enhance their aromas and flavors. Finally, this mixture is ground into a fine coffee-like texture.
“This entire process takes about two days, as opposed to the much longer time coffee trees take to yield their harvest,” Jake says.
While Prefer’s grounds are naturally caffeine-free, caffeine can be added to achieve the desired caffeine level. The final brew processes just like traditional coffee, requiring no extra steps in a coffee machine.
“The product is ideally enjoyed with milk, whether dairy or plant-based,” Jake says. “We’re still refining our formula, but so far, bartenders have told us it makes an exceptional espresso martini!”
Putting Prefer on shelves
The company officially introduced itself to the public with a media launch on 22 February 2024, announcing US$2 million secured in seed funding.
“These funds are being allocated to fuel development of our bioflavour technology, expand production capacity, and establish key partnerships within the food and beverage industry,” Jake shares.
Prefer’s flavour is often described as nutty and chocolatey, reminiscent of a Brazilian Arabica. Jake acknowledges that this taste isn’t for everyone as they are focused on providing a solution for the masses.
Still, the co-founders are working to diversify their product range to reach a wider audience. Currently, Prefer offers coffee grounds, bottled lattes, and coffee concentrates through cafes, bars, retailers, and online platforms in Singapore.
“While we continue to expand our presence in cafes and restaurants, we’re also turning our attention to larger B2B clients like FMCGs and ingredient companies,” Jake says. “Building strong B2B relationships will allow us to broaden our impact and speed up the adoption of sustainable food and beverages.”
What's brewing next
Beyond coffee, Prefer has even more exciting developments brewing.
“We’re researching and developing sustainable alternatives for other flavours, like cocoa,” Jake reveals. “Our ultimate goal is to build a diverse portfolio of flavours that are threatened by climate change.”
As the creator of Asia’s first bean-free coffee, Prefer is part of a growing wave of Singapore-based innovators leading the charge in sustainability. Among them is plant-based meat company Next Gen Food.
“I’m proud to be able to contribute to the region’s sustainable food tech scene,” Jake says. “Being here has allowed me to collaborate with many like-minded partners and tackle climate change head-on.”
While his path has taken many turns, it seems that he has discovered in this startup a purpose that sticks. “I will be working on climate solutions for the rest of my life,” he says.
Interested to learn more about how Jake met his co-founder, Ding Jie? Listen to their story on Spotify here.
Meet Jake
Jake Berber is the co-founder and CEO of Prefer, a sustainable food tech startup that creates bean-free coffee using upcycled ingredients like bread, soy pulp, and spent barley grains to combat climate change.
Connect with him here.
