10144450Scaling sustainable cocoa butter production using cellular agricultureActiveCollaborative R&DInnovate UKFor the third year running, cocoa demand has outstripped supply, with a 2023/24 deficit of 462,000 tons predicted by the International Cocoa Organization. Consequently, in April 2024, cocoa prices reached an historic high of USD12,261/ton, compared to around USD3,000/ton in April 2023\. Cocoa yields, which are expected to fall by 11.7% in 2023/24, are already significantly affected by both the climate crisis and prevailing climate patterns (El Nino), which have led to more extreme weather conditions in key cocoa-producing regions. Seasonally wetter conditions have driven devastating fungal disease outbreaks (black pod disease causes 20-30% yield losses globally and up to 100% locally). Seasonally warmer and drier conditions have also driven mealybug outbreaks, exacerbating the spread of endemic viral diseases (cocoa swollen shoot virus disease can cause local yield losses of 15-50%). By 2050, it is estimated that 89.5% of cocoa-producing areas will be less suitable for production. Alongside climate and disease challenges, the rising price of agricultural inputs (including fertiliser and pesticides) has forced farmers to reduce application rates, further reducing yield and profits. With smallholder farmers having limited investment opportunities, cocoa trees are also ageing and less productive. Coupling these production challenges with low farm-gate prices and small farm sizes, the majority of farmers in the two main cocoa-producing countries (Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana) are unable to earn a living income. Consequently, younger generations are increasingly seeking more rewarding employment opportunities. Cocoa continues to be a major driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and serious labour issues including child labour and forced labour. With cocoa demand continuing to rise, alternatives to traditional cocoa that can future-proof supplies and offer improved social and environmental impacts are receiving increasing attention. First-generation cocoa alternatives substitute cocoa for natural alternatives (e.g., carob), but they cannot recreate the authentic organoleptic properties of cocoa. Second-generation cocoa alternatives use precision fermentation to recreate key components of cocoa, but because they do not generate the full range of natural compounds in cocoa, they cannot recreate the full organoleptic properties of cocoa. Precision fermentation techniques also rely on energy-intensive genetically modified microbial production processes, which are challenging to scale. Recently, plant cell culture processes have been developed that uniquely offer the opportunity to recreate nature-identical cocoa, without requiring the development or use of genetically modified microbes, and with an energy-efficient and theoretically scalable production process. Here, Extracellular (UK) and Celleste Bio (Israel) will scale plant cell cultured cocoa production.