Mondelēz International made a dozen milk chocolate bars using cocoa butter produced from cell-cultured technology developed by Celleste Bio, a feat that sets the stage for the startup to scale production within the next two years.
Israel-based Celleste, which became the first to produce cell-cultured chocolate-grade cocoa butter last October, said the bars show the technology works and the ingredients can soon be made available to chocolate manufacturers and other food companies, according to CEO Michal Beressi Golomb. Celleste didn’t make the chocolate bars but provided the cocoa butter to Toblerone maker Mondelēz, which acted as a strategic partner and investor.
Golomb said Celleste is “talking to everybody” who uses large amounts of chocolate about purchasing the company’s lab-grown cocoa butter and powder. Celleste’s goal is to produce 50,000 tons of cocoa butter annually by 2035, or roughly 5% of the 2 million tons needed to support the chocolate industry each year.
“The need is real, and the business opportunity here is real,” Golomb said. “I don’t need to do marketing. I get outreach from chocolate companies.”
Cocoa butter is the primary fat used in making chocolate and is essential to creating the richness and melt-in-your-mouth feeling of the sweet. Chocolate manufacturers spend about $16 billion on cocoa ingredients a year, Celleste previously said, with cocoa butter making up nearly half of that total.
Celleste said its cocoa butter is bio-identical to conventionally grown cocoa, meaning it delivers the same texture, melt profile and sensory experience as traditional chocolate. Food companies can swap in Celleste’s cocoa butter without having to make any other changes to the ingredient list or the chocolate production process, Golomb said.
The startup is optimistic it will eventually be able to produce tons of cocoa butter and powder annually in bioreactors from a single cocoa bean, a feat that would otherwise require about a hectare, or around about 2.5 acres, of cocoa trees. Golomb said her company’s goal is to “supplement” cocoa butter production, not to replace traditional farming.
“We want to supplement the industry because we think we need to have a solution for an industry that hasn’t changed in decades,” Golomb said. “Global consumption is large enough to have multiple solutions.”
Celleste’s achievement comes as cocoa prices have been volatile during the last few years, prompting Mondelēz, Hershey and other users of the commodity to raise prices or rethink innovation. The industry has also been hit by climate change issues and labor concerns, which caused production to plummet by as much as 40% in 2024.
Mondelēz, the world’s second-largest player in the $147 billion global chocolate market, has responded to the price swings by making more bars filled with nougat, caramel and other ingredients, while expanding its portfolio of premium offerings for consumers willing to pay. It has also looked for alternative options, which include investing in the four-year-old Celleste.
Other large food companies have also explored alternative options to reduce their dependence on traditionally grown cocoa. Nestlé, for example, is expected to launch a cocoa-free alternative this month under its Snack Vibes line in Germany. Instead of cocoa, the ingredient uses tech firm Planet A’s Choviva, a blend of sunflower seeds, sugar, plant-based fats and milk powder, according to Food Navigator.
