A food tech startup has created milk chocolate bars using cocoa butter grown in a lab, marking a step toward reducing reliance on traditional cocoa farming.

Celleste Bio said it produced the bars using its cell-cultured cocoa butter, with partner Mondelez International manufacturing nearly a dozen prototypes that met its internal quality standards.

The development shows that lab-grown cocoa ingredients can move beyond the lab and into finished products. The company says its cocoa butter is bio-identical to conventional versions, delivering the same texture and melt profile.

The chocolate was produced using cell suspension culture technology, where cocoa cells are grown in controlled environments to replicate the compounds found in naturally grown cocoa.

Chocolate without cocoa farms

Instead of relying on plantations, the process starts with a small sample from a cocoa bean. The cells are then grown in bioreactors, where they are fed nutrients to multiply and produce cocoa butter.

“Celleste launched in 2022 with the mission to secure a sustainable future for the global chocolate industry amidst increasing supply chain pressures of climate change, disease, traceability and geopolitical instability,” said Michal Beressi Golomb, CEO, Celleste Bio.

The company says this approach can significantly reduce the land and resources needed to produce cocoa. It claims that a single bean can generate enough cocoa butter for chocolate production when scaled through bioreactors.

“We are on track to produce 1 ton of cocoa butter annually in a 1000 liter bioreactor from a single bean – which would otherwise require about a hectare of cocoa trees.”

The breakthrough comes as cocoa supply chains face pressure from climate change and fluctuating yields, which have driven price volatility in recent years.

Scaling remains key challenge

While the prototype bars demonstrate feasibility, the technology is still in its early stages. Celleste aims to scale production and bring its cocoa butter to market by 2027, pending regulatory approvals.

“We’ve validated our ingredients as drop-in replacements, created an operational R&D pilot facility to scale up our volumes and now proven our cocoa butter performs identically to conventional cocoa, clearing the next phase to commercial scale.”

The company is also exploring how artificial intelligence can be used to tailor cocoa butter properties, such as melting point and taste, for different applications.

Despite the promise, scaling production to industrial levels while maintaining cost efficiency and regulatory compliance remains a major hurdle for lab-grown food technologies.

The company has raised $5.6 million so far and is working with partners to expand production capacity while refining its process for commercial deployment. It also plans to place production facilities closer to manufacturers to reduce logistics costs and emissions.

Still, the ability to produce cocoa without relying entirely on farms could help stabilize supply chains and reduce environmental impact, particularly in regions affected by climate stress and deforestation.