Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Seymour CPP.
Hi Thomas, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Moka Energy started with a simple question that turned into an obsession: Why has no one made coffee truly edible?
I’ve been drinking coffee my entire life. I was introduced to it at a very young age at my Nonna’s house, where it always came from a Moka pot hot, dark, and bitter. That ritual stuck with me, and it ultimately inspired both the product and the brand.
Fast forward a few decades. I’m a ten-cup-a-day coffee drinker, a food and CPG professional, and someone who’s constantly on the move. I needed coffee to be more convenient but I refused to compromise on flavor, quality, or health. As I built my career in food manufacturing, packaging, and brand development, I watched portable caffeine snacks explode onto the market at places like Expo West and Fancy Food. I tried all of them, and honestly, they fell short. The texture was off. The flavor was lacking. The experience wasn’t enjoyable.
That gap is what led me to Moka Energy.
Coffee fuels our mornings and anchors our routines, but it isn’t always practical between meetings, at the gym, or while traveling. People want coffee to move with them, without the mess, the crash, or synthetic shortcuts. The problem wasn’t replacing that first cup of the day. It was extending coffee beyond the cup.
After months of development, countless iterations, and a real breakthrough, we created something new: the first whole-bean coffee bar. A product that preserves the integrity of real coffee beans while delivering clean energy, real flavor, and true convenience. Moka eats like a chocolate bar but tastes and fuels like a cup of coffee.
Today, I’m proud to stand behind a product, a plan, and a team that’s ready for market, built to scale, and designed with a clear path to exit. Moka Energy is coffee reimagined for the modern lifestyle and it’s just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all and honestly, if it were smooth, I’d probably question whether we were really building something meaningful.
The entrepreneurial journey is defined far more by valleys than peaks, especially in the early days. The real measure of success for founders isn’t avoiding challenges, it’s how you navigate through them. There have been moments where progress felt slow, where development took longer than expected, where supply chain realities, cost pressures, or simple trial and error tested our patience and resolve.
What keeps you going are the small wins. A breakthrough in formulation. A prototype that finally feels right. A conversation that opens a door. Learning to recognize and celebrate those moments matters, because they’re proof you’re moving forward, even when it doesn’t feel linear.
Building Moka has required grit and tenacity. It’s meant staying committed when the path wasn’t clear, adapting when something didn’t work, and trusting that persistence compounds over time. Those valleys don’t disappear, but they shape you, and they ultimately make the business stronger and more resilient.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Moka Energy exists to solve a simple but persistent problem: the friction that comes with getting reliable energy in the middle of a busy day. Brewing, mixing, spilling, crashing. We believe energy should move at the speed of life, not slow you down.
We specialize in edible coffee. Moka Energy is an energy bar made from real, whole coffee beans, delivering the functional equivalent of a cup of coffee in a solid, spill proof format. No extracts. No synthetic caffeine. No shaker bottles, cups, or cleanup. Just real coffee, re engineered into a form you can carry anywhere.
We are not chocolate, not a meal replacement, and not junk energy. We are a precision energy designed with functionality in mind for moments when you need to stay in motion. The commute. The 2 PM slump. The transition from desk to gym. The long shift or long meeting where stopping is not an option.
We start with 100% ethically sourced, real coffee beans and preserve their integrity, flavor, and functional benefit. We are intentional about using sustainable packaging as we are committed to improving our communities and the environment. The result is a bar that eats like chocolate, but bites like coffee. Bold, smooth, creamy and purposeful. We respect the palate, the body, and the time of the people who rely on us. No hype. No gimmicks. Just a better way to access energy.
What we want readers to know is this: Moka Energy is not here to replace your morning ritual. We love coffee culture. We are here to extend coffee beyond the cup and into the moments where friction usually wins. If you have people waiting on you, work to finish, miles to cover, or momentum you cannot afford to lose, Moka Energy is built for you.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was a hustler in the purest sense. I’ve always had an instinct to spot opportunity and act on it. One of my earliest memories of entrepreneurship was around age eleven, when I took money I earned from landscaping jobs, walked to the corner store, bought candy in bulk, and sold it to kids on my block at a hundred percent markup. I didn’t have the language for business back then, but I understood value, risk, and return early on.
At the same time, I was raised with a strong foundation of kindness, empathy, and community. I’ve always been someone who cares deeply about people and relationships. Some of my earliest influences came from the kitchen, cooking alongside my mom. That’s where I developed a love for food, an appreciation for quality ingredients, and an understanding that food brings people together. Those moments planted the seeds for both my passion for food and my respect for craftsmanship.
Athletics played a major role in shaping who I am. I was a standout high school athlete and went on to play college football, experiences that instilled discipline, resilience, accountability, and teamwork. Football taught me how to lead, how to push through adversity, and how to put the group before myself. Those lessons still guide how I show up in business today.
Personality wise, I’ve always been driven, curious, and relentlessly hands on. I like to understand how things work, improve them, and build something meaningful. Whether it was sports, food, or business, I’ve always combined hustle with heart. That mix of entrepreneurial instinct, love for people, and respect for craft has stayed with me from childhood and continues to define how I build, lead, and invest in the work I do today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www,mokaenergy.com
- Instagram: moka_energy
- LinkedIn: Moka Energy
