Kokomodo: real cacao without trees, the future of sustainable cacao
Kokomodo is redefining how cacao is made by cultivating real cacao cells in controlled environments, delivering full flavour and enhanced bioactives without deforestation or exploitative labour.
Kokomodo cultivates real cacao from selected cell lines in controlled environments, preserving cacao’s full flavour and elevating its natural bioactives. The result is a year-round, ethical and resilient supply of functional cacao ingredients for chocolate, beverages, and nutraceuticals without the land use, pesticides or labour risks of plantation farming.
A crop under pressure
Cacao is one of the world’s most beloved ingredients but also one of the most vulnerable. The impacts of climate change are causing loses in suitable farming areas.[1] Extreme weather has ruined harvests and pushed up prices to all time highs. In 2023 one tonne of cocoa was priced at US$2,500 and two years later it has rocketed to US$12,000 per tonne. [2]
Traditional plantations depend not only on fragile ecosystems but often involve exploitative labour conditions. Surveys in 2018 and 2019 show that around 1.5 million children were in engaged in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, two of the largest cacao producing countries.[3] There is a huge need for a resilient and ethical way to produce real cacao that preserves flavour and function without depending only on tropical land or human exploitation.
Growing cacao without trees: the Kokomodo approach
Kokomodo began with a simple idea: what if we could grow real cacao, without trees, in a way that’s good for people and the planet? Using cellular agriculture principles, they cultivate cacao directly from selected plant cells. The process starts by isolating cells from premium cacao varieties originating in Central and South America and selecting them for desirable characteristics, such as flavour and naturally occurring bioactives, including flavanols.
Once Kokomodo has established the most promising cell cultures, it scales them up in bioreactors before harvesting the cacao biomass. The cells require a relatively simple growth medium containing vitamins, minerals and growth-promoting factors, helping make the process economical and scalable.
Kokomodo is developing cell-cultured cacao as a climate-resilient alternative to conventional cocoa, enabling year-round production with harvests every few days. Its ingredients can be tailored for flavour, texture and bioactive content, with potential applications across food, nutraceuticals and cosmetics, from premium chocolate to functional ingredients.[4]
In 2026, the company joined COCO-AI, a €6.3 million Horizon Europe project exploring how plant cell culture and artificial intelligence can reshape the production of cocoa and other high-value natural ingredients. The same year, Kokomodo and Cargill partnered through EIT Food’s co-financing programme to validate and scale cell-based cacao ingredients for sustainable, resilient use across beverages, dairy, and confectionery.
Reducing cocoa’s environmental footprint
Through controlled, year-round biomanufacturing, Kokomodo is redefining sustainable cocoa production by creating a scalable pathway to fair and responsible sourcing with substantially lower environmental and societal impact. Compared with traditional cocoa cultivation, Kokomodo's process can lower greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂e) by more than 89%, representing a transformative reduction in the environmental burden of cocoa production. By eliminating dependence on climate-sensitive agricultural cultivation, the technology provides a resilient, year-round supply chain while reducing pressure on land, water, and ecosystems.
Kokomodo has achieved
EIT Food backing and accelerator success
Kokomodo was established with an initial investment of €691,000 from The Kitchen Foodtech Hub and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). [5] As part of the 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network (FAN), Kokomodo received mentorship, technical validation, and EU funding to advance cell-based cacao platform. The programme allowed them to strengthen their business model, refine their go-to-market strategy, and connect with key partners across the food innovation ecosystem. At the end of the programme, Kokomodo won the EU Tech Validation Award worth €20,000 for its technology.
Kokomodo was selected as one of Israel’s Top 100 Climate Startups (PLANETech, Land Use category) and named a winner at MassChallenge Switzerland 2025.
Kokomodo is one of EIT Food’s RisingFoodStars of 2025 and has continued to benefit from the community: by gaining visibility, networking opportunities, and collaboration pathways with corporates and research partners to explore sustainable and functional ingredient solutions. This has allowed them to keep building momentum towards their next stage of commercialisation. The company become one of 18 agrifood scaleups to earn the 2026 RisingFoodStars Scaleup Verification Badge following a rigorous and independent assessment process.
“EIT Food has been a true catalyst in Kokomodo’s journey. Through the FAN accelerator and RisingFoodStars community, we gained not just visibility but real partnerships and momentum to bring our vision of sustainable, functional cacao to life.”
Lessons learned from Kokomodo’s success:
- Creative application of technology to meet a societal need. Applying cellular agriculture to cacao allowed Kokomodo to address climate, deforestation and labour challenges while preserving quality of product
- Design for scale from the start. By developing a simplified, low-input cultivation process and engaging early with partners, Kokomodo laid the foundations for industrial-scale cacao production.
- Turn biological diversity into a unique product advantage. By developing multiple cacao cell lines across different varieties and genotypes, Kokomodo can tailor ingredients for specific functional and nutritional needs, creating a strong USP.
What comes next for cell-cultivated cacao
Kokomodo’s next step is to translate scientific proof into industrial reality. Scaling bioprocessing for cacao will require deeper collaborations with food producers, investors, and regulators. With the right support, Kokomodo can set a global benchmark for deforestation-free ingredient manufacturing, accelerating Europe’s transition to a healthier, low-carbon food system.
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References
- Asante AP, Rahn E, Anten NPR, Zuidema A, Morales A, Rozendaal DMA. (2025) ‘Climate change impacts on cocoa production in the major producing countries of West and Central Africa by mid-century' Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192325000139
- ‘With $750,000 in Funding, Kokomodo Emerges as Latest Cell-Based Chocolate Player’ (2024) Green Queen https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/kokomodo-lab-grown-cocoa-cell-based-chocolate-israel/
- 'NORC Final Report’ (2020) NORC https://www.norc.org/content/dam/norc-org/pdfs/NORC%202020%20Cocoa%20Report_English.pdf
- Robinson, N. (2026, January 7). As cocoa chaos continues, Kokomodo finds its moment. FoodNavigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2026/01/07/kokomodo-rises-as-cocoa-crisis-fuels-demand-for-cellgrown-cacao/
