Dive Brief:
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Mondelēz International’s SnackFutures Ventures, the company’s venture capital arm, was among the investors who participated in a $4.5 million financing round for Celleste Bio, a producer of cell-cultured cocoa ingredients. The investment was led by Supply Change Capital.
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Celleste, founded in 2022 in Israel, will use the funding to accelerate the R&D, infrastructure and technology needed to pilot and scale production. The company uses agtech, biotech and AI computational models to grow 100% natural cocoa from one or two beans in controlled conditions all year-round. It claims to have the ability to create 1 ton of cocoa butter from a single cocoa pod.
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The development of lab-grown cocoa comes as the crop faces challenges from climate change, concerns over labor used to grow and harvest the crop, deforestation and recent price volatility.
Dive Insight:
Chocolate accounted for a record $21.4 billion in confectionery sales during the last year, with 65% of consumers indulging in the confection, according to an October report from the National Confectioners Association.
Still, a prolonged global shortage in cocoa has sent prices soaring. Hershey, Mondelēz and other users of the commodity have raised prices and warned that further increases could come as cocoa costs eat into their profitability. With their favorite chocolate-based snacks more expensive, some consumers have already chosen to cut back on how much they purchase.
“We have seen some shifting away from chocolate to other products, whether that’s cookies or salty snacks,” J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman said in a research report earlier this year. “We think chocolate’s losing a bit of share, so consumers are certainly reacting to higher prices.”
Cocoa production, the majority of which comes from Ivory Coast and Ghana in West Africa, also has long been plagued by child labor concerns, environmental worries and allegations that companies that depend on producers have not done enough to help them financially.
With chocolate demand remaining elevated, the impetus is on cocoa users, researchers and startup companies to find solutions to ensure there is enough reliable supply of the ingredient. Some food companies are developing recipes that use less chocolate, turning to ingredients that produce a chocolate-like taste, or exploring synthetic and lab-grown ingredients.
“As one of the world’s largest chocolate producers, we are acutely aware of the supply chain challenges we need to overcome to produce our iconic chocolate brands like Milka, Cadbury and Toblerone while also having a positive impact on our business, consumers and the environment,” Richie Gray, who runs Mondelēz SnackFutures Ventures.
He added that while Celleste is “in its early stages, [the company] has great promise as a complementary technology to traditional farming practices.” Mondelēz previously invested in Celleste during a funding round in 2022.
To be sure, cocoa production will continue to be sourced from West Africa and other regions for the foreseeable future. For lab-grown cocoa from Celleste and other companies to become a viable option, it must be cost-competitive with its traditionally grown counterpart and generate enough volume to be included in chocolate products manufactured on a large scale.
“Climate change and conventional farming practices are depleting our rainforests — resulting in unprecedented environmental and financial challenges to grow enough cocoa to meet the needs of a $100B — and growing – chocolate industry,” Michal Beressi Golomb, Celleste’s CEO, said in a statement. “This round provides us with the financial and strategic support we need to accelerate product development, scalability and commercial readiness.”
The move to grow cocoa indoors mirrors a similar push in beef, chicken and other products that are being grown in labs. Progress in this segment has been slow and expensive, with some startups going out of business. The first two restaurants to serve cultivated chicken pulled the product after a few months.