Mondelēz and Celleste Bio Launch the World’s First Cell-Based Chocolate Bar

Mondelēz and Celleste Bio partner to grow lab-made cocoa butter that promises to survive climate change and stabilize global prices.

Chocolate lovers, take a deep breath. The treat we all crave is undergoing a high-tech makeover to ensure it stays on our shelves forever. In a landmark move for the food industry, confectionery giant Mondelēz International has partnered with Israeli start-up Celleste Bio to develop the world’s first cell-based chocolate bar.

This breakthrough isn’t just a science experiment; it’s a solution to a global crisis. Between aging farms, unpredictable weather, and rising prices, traditional cocoa farming is struggling to keep up. By using “cell suspension culture,” scientists can now take cells from a single cocoa bean and grow them in a lab to produce real, high-quality cocoa butter.

This isn't a fake substitute. The resulting world’s first cell-based chocolate bar is bio-identical to the one in your pantry. It carries the same glossy shine, the signature “snap” when you break a square, and that silky-smooth melt we all love.

“Cocoa butter determines the texture, the melt and mouthfeel. There’s nothing else in food that behaves quite like it,” says Michal Beressi Golomb, CEO of Celleste Bio. As a former chef, she insists that for chocolate to be real, the fat profile must be perfect.

While Celleste Bio is currently scaling up production, they aim to be market-ready by 2027. As CIO Bulletin continues to track the intersection of technology and consumer goods, it’s clear that the future of food is shifting from the field to the lab, ensuring that the collective sweet tooth is satisfied for generations to come.