| Imagine biting into a rich, velvety piece of milk chocolate that tastes exactly like your favorite brand, but was produced in a lab. It is already a reality -- and a world first, according to Singapore-listed The Trendlines Group which holds a 17% stake in Celleste Bio which it helped found and incubate. It has just announced a milestone for Celleste Bio: the unveiling of the world’s first milk chocolate bars made with cell-cultured cocoa butter. This product matches the texture, melt profile, and sensory experience of the chocolate we’ve known for years.  |
|
How Does "Lab-Grown" Chocolate Work? |
Celleste Bio uses proprietary cell suspension culture technology. In simple terms, cells from a high-quality cocoa bean are grown in a controlled environment.
|
Trendlines stock price |
5.6 c |
|
52-wk range |
2.6 – 8.4 c |
|
PE (ttm) |
27 |
|
Market cap |
S$81.5 m |
|
Shares outstanding |
1.46 B |
|
Dividend |
-- |
|
1-yr return |
70% |
|
P/B |
0.82 |
|
Source: Yahoo! |
|
Celleste can produce enough chocolate-grade cocoa butter for chocolate bars using only a single cocoa bean.
The Trendlines press release says Celleste intends to "transform the chocolate market by using AI modelling to tailor cocoa butter for specific melting points and flavour profiles".
Over the past three years, Celleste has validated its cultured cocoa butter as a direct alternative, and established a pilot facility for scaling production.
In a show of confidence, Mondelēz International, the maker of Cadbury and Toblerone, acted as a strategic and design partner, using Celleste’s cocoa butter to produce almost 12 chocolate bars that met its rigorous product standards.
 "This milestone demonstrates Celleste's cell cultured ingredients are bio-identical to conventionally grown cocoa - meaning they deliver the same texture, melt profile and sensory experience, and sets the stage for scaling production to market-ready quantities in the foreseeable future."-- Haim Brosh, CEO, Trendlines Group |
|
What This May Mean for Cocoa Prices |
Traditional cocoa farming will come under pressure. Celleste’s technology introduces a resilient supply chain by achieving commercial-scale production in a 1,000-liter bioreactor using a single cocoa bean.
This process "eliminates the sole dependence on the traditional farming of cocoa trees and supplements production, without replacing it," says Trendlines.
By moving production to controlled facilities, the industry can create a buffer against the sharp price spikes we see when traditional harvests fail.
Will chocolates get cheaper?
It's too early to tell. With market-ready cultured cocoa butter anticipated by 2027, the goal is commercial viability.
Because cell-cultured cocoa isn't dependent on the weather, it offers a way to bypass the supply shocks that drive up the price of chocolates.
For chocolate makers, this is a game-changer. Manufacturers can now access a replacement that "preserves the quality and functionality that chocolate makers and consumers depend on".
With US$5.6 million already raised from investors—including Mondelēz and Trendlines—Celleste Bio is moving fast. We are standing at the edge of a "chocolate revolution" that ensures sustainable growth without harming natural resources. |
