A major development in the food industry is potentially disrupting the global cocoa market, as chocolate bars have been grown in a lab for the first time. An Israeli start-up, Celleste Bio, with the backing of international food giant Mondelez (owner of brands such as Oreo, Cadbury and Toblerone), has unveiled a food tech innovation aimed at reducing reliance on traditional cocoa production and the impact of climate change on supply. The company announced that it has produced 12 chocolate bars using “cell-grown cocoa butter” at Cadbury’s Birmingham manufacturing facility.
This technology aims to offer an alternative to traditional cocoa cultivation, which is mainly concentrated in West Africa and has been significantly affected by extreme weather conditions and lack of investment, factors that have also contributed to the increase in prices in recent years.
The company’s CEO, Michal Beressi Golomb, told the Financial Times that the new product is not an artificial substitute, but “real chocolate created through a controlled laboratory process,” emphasizing that the ingredient produced behaves in the same way as traditional cocoa butter in industrial processes. The production process starts with a small sample of cocoa cells, which are grown in specialized tanks and fed sugars and nutrients, while producing the fats and aromas characteristic of natural cocoa. According to the company, the goal is to obtain regulatory approvals in the US and Israel by the end of 2027, while the process in the European market is expected to take longer.
Cocoa prices have fluctuated significantly in 2024-2025, reaching from around $3 per ton to over $12, which has put great pressure on the global chocolate industry. As a result, major companies such as Mondelez, Lindt & Sprüngli and Cargill are investing in new production alternatives to reduce dependence on the traditional cocoa market and ensure long-term stability in supply.