In California, a foodtech startup has reported progress scaling the production of cocoa using cellular agriculture. According to Green Queen, California Cultured has advanced from growing cocoa cells in a bench shake flask to growing them in bioreactors, with help from collaboration partner Pow.Bio.
Founded in 2020, California Cultured isolates cocoa plant cells with the best organoleptic properties for culture in fermentation tanks. The cells can be “harvested” in mere days, then fermented like traditional cocoa.
The milestone comes as conventional chocolate manufacturing struggles with climate and supply chain risks and human labor concerns that have driven cocoa prices sharply higher. Pow.Bio contributed real-time process control, clean room capabilities, culture media optimization, and continuous fermentation systems.