Cell Cultured Chocolate

Members: University of California – Davis, California Cultured

Project dates: 2026 – present

This joint project, funded by NSF and BioMADE, aims to lower the production costs of high-quality chocolate products by using cacao plant cell culture in novel bioreactors. California Cultured and UC Davis will address cost drivers identified through techno-economic analysis (TEA) of traditional stainless-steel bioreactors and high-pressure clean steam sterilization. Their focus is on innovating low-CAPEx and low-OPEx bioreactors and associated processes. The development of novel bioreactors, improved vessel and media sterilization methods, and in-line biomass sensors will benefit all fermentation-based companies within the bioindustrial manufacturing ecosystem. The knowledge gained from developing new scalable and cost-effective plant cell culture platform methods is expected to accelerate studies into other cellular agriculture products of interest to BioMADE members and the wider industry. 

Funding source: U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation (NSF)