Key Takeaways:
- Celleste Bio debuts chocolate-grade cocoa butter at EIT Food’s Next Bite Summit in Brussels
- Breakthrough demonstrates bio-identical, scalable, and sustainable cocoa ingredient production
- Addresses global cocoa supply volatility and sustainability challenges
- Backed by $5.6 million in funding, including support from Mondelēz International and leading investors
Breakthrough in Cocoa Ingredient Production
Celleste Bio™, an early-stage cocoa technology company, announced a major milestone in building a climate-resilient cocoa supply. At this week’s EIT Food’s Next Bite Summit in Brussels, Belgium, Celleste unveiled the world’s first chocolate-grade cocoa butter made using plant cell culture technology.
As one of the first companies to apply cell culture to real cocoa ingredient production, Celleste Bio’s breakthrough showcases a sustainable, scalable alternative to traditional cocoa farming while maintaining identical quality and performance characteristics.
The chocolate-grade cocoa butter is:
- Bio-identical to conventional cocoa butter in chemical and functional composition
- Matched for fatty acid profile, texture, and melting behavior critical to premium chocolate
- Designed for scalability, enabling stable production independent of agricultural limitations
- Efficient and sustainable, generating zero waste and using all inputs effectively
Scientific and Industry Validation
“Our ability to produce real cocoa butter via cell culture proves that science can be used to grow and produce ingredients that mirror nature with integrity and transparency,” said Michal Berresi Golomb, CEO of Celleste Bio. “This is a major R&D achievement led by Hanne Volpin, PhD, CTO of Celleste, and her team—and validation for the cocoa industry that technology can supplement supply chain shortages caused by the volatility of traditional farming.”
Cocoa butter represents nearly half of the $16 billion annual cocoa ingredient market. In 2024, global cocoa prices surged by 400 percent following a half-billion-ton supply shortage. Experts warn that climate volatility and land constraints have made instability the new normal for cocoa production.
Technology as a Supply Chain Safeguard
“Technology doesn’t replace traditional farming—it’s an insurance policy against imminent supply chain disruptions caused by pests, disease, and agricultural instability,” said Howard Yano Shapiro, retired Chief Agriculture Officer at Mars, Incorporated. “Celleste Bio is one example of a technology that’s getting ahead of a long-term crisis. Cocoa butter is the most important, expensive, and resource-intensive ingredient in chocolate, and crop supplementation solutions are crucial.”
Next Steps and Strategic Support
Celleste Bio is building a pilot facility to accelerate R&D and scale production of its cocoa ingredients. To date, the company has raised $5.6 million, with Mondelēz International as a strategic and design partner, alongside Supply Change Capital, Trendlines, Barrel Ventures, and other investors.
This milestone marks a pivotal step in developing sustainable cocoa ingredient alternatives that can stabilize global chocolate supply chains and reduce the industry’s environmental footprint.
