The financing, led by Supply Change Capital with participation by Mondelez International’s SnackFutures Ventures and other backers, will help the 2-year-old company scale production of its cell-cultured cocoa ingredients from about 10 liters in the lab currently to 1,000 liters in a year and more than 10,000 liters at commercial scale by 2027, Celleste Bio CEO Michal Beressi Golomb told FoodNavigator-USA.
“We are reinventing cocoa farming with a combination of AgTech, BioTech and AI to produce all-natural, food-grade cocoa butter that meets the needs of the chocolate industry,” she said.
She explained that the $100 billion and growing chocolate industry faces “unprecedented” supply chain challenges related to climate change and deforestation and without sufficient cocoa butter, companies would not be able to produce enough chocolate that tastes, melts in the moth and “cracks” like consumers love.
“We are actually providing an alternative way of farming cocoa to meet demand for chocolate” but with lower emissions and less waste by taking the cells from one to two cocoa beans and “nourishing them in sugar, vitamins and water in large tanks, like you see in wine or beer,” Golomb said.
She explained the company uses proprietary AI models to choose cells from optimal genetic varieties of cocoa from nature and “mimic the natural habitat of the rainforest by controlling the humidity and temperature to make them feel like they are on a tree” even though they are in bioreactors, to produce cocoa butter.
“This allows us to remove unpredictability of quality and quantity” that currently occurs in nature, Golomb said.
Consistent supply of customizable ingredients
Once at scale, the company will have “continuous, stable production” because it will extract only 80% of the biomass from the fermentation tanks at a time – leaving the remaining 20% to begin the next production cycle, according to Golomb.
From this process, the company initially will produce cocoa butter and cocoa powder, which is left behind when the cocoa butter is extracted, but it eventually plans to offer customized ingredients to meet customers’ specifications, Golomb said.
She explained the company’s AI computational modeling offers a competitive advantage because it can modify ingredients to customers’ specifications before production begins. For example, the company’s “second generation” of ingredients could include chocolate that is less bitter, lower in sugar, or has a higher or lower melting point, she added.
“We can imagine everything we want here and play with the fermenters to create chocolate like we haven’t see before,” she added.
Capital raise unlocks strategic partnerships
The seed round brings Celleste Bio more than money – it also reinforces strategic partnerships that Golomb said will help the startup fast-track research and development and clear regulatory requirements.
For example, she noted, collaborating with Mondelez International will allow Celleste Bio to reach market faster because it “provides access to capabilities that a small startup doesn’t have, such as consumer data, consulting with its R&D team, and regulatory guidance.”
On the last point, she noted, regulatory hurdles are one reason why Celleste Bio’s commercial availability is still several years out depending on the country in which it will be sold.
“What we are making is a novel food in the US, Europe, UK and Israel,” and to meet regulatory standards in each of those countries will take time, she said.
She expects Celleste Bio to secure Generally Recognized As Safe status in the US in the next 15 months, which will make the US the company’s first market. Clearing regulatory hurdles in Europe and the UK could take two to three years, she added.
Investment in Celleste Bio reinforces Mondelez’ leadership in cocoa industry
From Mondelez’s perspective, the investment in Celleste Bio offers supply chain security without compromising quality or value for consumers, Mondelez SnackFutures Ventures Global Head Richie Gray told FoodNavigator-USA.
He explained that, like all chocolate manufacturers, Mondelez International has “had to make adjustments across the entire value chain – from production to pricing” to address the impact of climate change on the cocoa supply chain.
And while he said he believes Mondelez is “experienced and disciplined in managing commodity costs,” he said he sees the company’s investment in Celleste Bio as “really important and exciting” because “it enables us to think holistically and futuristically about our leadership in chocolate.”
He explained: “Building these capabilities offers exciting potential to expand our cocoa supply” regardless of the weather and in a way that promises quality and price controls.
According to Golomb, once Celleste Bio reaches commercial scale, it’s ingredients will be available at the same average price point as conventionally produced counterparts now.
