Kokomodo: real cacao without trees, the future of sustainable chocolate
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. Their process starts with isolating cells from premium cacao strains from Central and South American plants, selecting for flavour and enhanced natural bioactives, like flavanols, that supports our health.
Once Kokomodo establish cell cultures that are preferable, they upscale the process in bioreactors and harvest the cacao. Overall the cacao require a relatively simple media to grow, containing just vitamins, minerals and growth-promoting factors, making it economical to scale.
Kokomodo has moved from to pilot production and is producing fresh cacao biomass every few days. Their first product is a high-value cell cultivated cocoa powder for use as a raw ingredient for food, beverage, supplement and cosmetics. They plan to launch a cell cultivated cocoa butter. [4] They have a number of cell lines of different varieties and genotypes, allowing them to create blends tailored to factors like antioxidants, proteins, lipids and powder size. Some of Kokomodo’s lines are 10 times richer in antioxidants compared to the benchmark product, and others are richer in protein. [5]
Reducing cocoa’s environmental footprint
Through controlled, year-round biomanufacturing, Kokomodo has created a pathway for fair and sustainable sourcing, with reduced environmental [1] and societal impact. This new biomanufacturing process has a lower environmental impact compared to traditional cocoa production, reducing climate, pollution, and ozone-related impacts by about 23–25%.[2] Most of its environmental footprint comes from energy use during the manufacturing stage. [6]
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.
“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
- ‘Can cultivated cocoa solve the chocolate crisis? ‘It's like cultivating meat, but simpler’' (2024) Confectionary News https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2024/06/04/kokomodo-backs-cell-based-cocoa-to-solve-the-cocoa-crisis/
- ‘Real cocoa… without the beans? Kokomodo deploys plant cell culture to tackle cocoa supply challenge’ (2024) AgFunder https://agfundernews.com/real-cocoa-without-the-beans-kokomodo-deploys-plant-cell-culture-to-tackle-cocoa-supply-challenge
- Oluyemi GF, Afolabi RO, Zamora SC, Li Y, McElroy D. (2024) Environmental Impact Assessment of a Plant Cell-Based Bio-Manufacturing Process for Producing Plant Natural Product Ingredients. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198515
