Climate change stresses cocoa crops as companies innovate new ways to grow, substitute cocoa

Climate change is putting significant stress on rainforests where the highly- sensitive cocoa bean grows. However, chocolate lovers need not worry, as companies around the world are researching new methods to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes.

Innovative solutions are already being tested by agricultural and food scientists, from Northern California to Israel. For example, California Cultured, a plant cell culture company based in West Sacramento, is growing cocoa from cell cultures. The company plans to start selling its products next year. By placing cocoa bean cells in a vat with sugar water, the cells reproduce rapidly and reach maturity in just a week—compared to the six to eight months required for a traditional harvest, according to Alan Perlstein, the company’s CEO. This process also reduces the need for water and intensive labor.

“We essentially trick the cocoa cells into growing and dividing. After they reach a certain level of growth, we can harvest them and transform them into chocolate,” Perlstein explained. “Climate change is making it too warm for many species to thrive, leading to significant drops in cocoa yields worldwide.”

Cocoa trees thrive in regions with warm weather and abundant rainfall, such as West Africa and South America, which lie about 20 degrees north and south of the equator. However, climate change is expected to dry out these lands under increasing heat. In response, scientists, entrepreneurs, and chocolate enthusiasts are exploring ways to grow cocoa more resiliently, make it more resistant to pests, and even create chocolatey-tasting cocoa alternatives to meet the rising demand.

The U.S. and European markets for chocolate are enormous, with sales surpassing $25 billion in 2023, according to the National Confectionary Association. Many entrepreneurs are betting that demand will outpace the supply of cocoa, prompting companies to explore either boosting supply with cell-based cocoa or offering alternatives made from ingredients like oats and carob, which are roasted and flavored to mimic the taste of chocolate for use in chips or fillings.

Cocoa prices surged earlier this year due to increased demand and crop challenges in West Africa, where diseases and weather changes have impacted production. The region produces the bulk of the world’s cocoa.

According to Carla Martin, executive director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute and a lecturer at Harvard University, the push for innovation is driven by the high demand for chocolate in the U.S. and Europe. Although three-quarters of the world’s cocoa is grown in West and Central Africa, only 4% is consumed there.

The efforts to produce cocoa indoors in the U.S. come after other products, such as chicken meat, have been successfully grown in labs. This trend coincides with the growing variety of snacks on supermarket shelves, which developers of cocoa alternatives believe shows consumers are ready to try new options—even if the chocolate chip in their cookie contains a cocoa substitute.

These companies also hope to tap into the growing consumer awareness of the origins of their food, particularly the use of child labor in the cocoa industry.

Planet A Foods, based in Planegg, Germany, argues that the taste of mass-market chocolate is largely derived from the fermentation and roasting process, rather than the cocoa bean itself. The company’s founders experimented with ingredients ranging from olives to seaweed before settling on a combination of oats and sunflower seeds as the best-tasting chocolate alternative. Named “ChoViva,” the product can be used in baked goods as a chocolate substitute, said company spokesperson Jessica Karch.

While some companies are developing cocoa substitutes, others are focused on increasing the supply of traditional cocoa. Mars, the maker of M&Ms and Snickers, has a research facility at the University of California, Davis, dedicated to making cocoa plants more resilient, according to Joanna Hwu, the company’s senior director of cocoa plant science. The facility houses a living collection of cocoa trees, allowing scientists to study disease resistance and help farmers in cocoa-producing countries ensure a stable supply of beans.

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In Israel, efforts to expand the cocoa supply are also underway. Celleste Bio is growing cocoa bean cells indoors to produce cocoa powder and cocoa butter, said co-founder Hanne Volpin. The company expects to be able to produce cocoa within a few years, regardless of climate change or disease impacts—a development that has attracted interest from Mondelez, the maker of Cadbury chocolate.

California Cultured is pursuing a similar approach and plans to seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to label its product as chocolate, according to Perlstein. Whether it ends up being called “brewery chocolate” or “local chocolate,” Perlstein insists it is still chocolate, as it is genetically identical to traditional cocoa, even if it isn’t harvested from a tree.

“As climate change progresses, we’re likely to see more threats to our supply chain,” said Ashley Arnell, program manager at BioMADE, a nonprofit assisting California Cultured with its biomanufacturing system. “It’s great to have the opportunity to produce things domestically and sustainably.”