Chocolate manufacturers have begun substituting natural ingredients for artificial ones due to rising prices.

According to the FT, the American Mondelez International (which also produces Oreo cookies, Milka chocolate, Toblerone and Alpen Gold) invested in December in the Israeli startup Celleste Bio, which is developing artificial cellular cocoa. In total, the company raised $4.5 million as part of the round.

In turn, the British sugar manufacturer Tate & Lyle announced a partnership with BioHarvest Sciences to create sweeteners based on synthetic molecules of plant origin, the newspaper writes.

Other companies are also looking for alternatives to natural ingredients. For example, the Finnish Fazer, which produces sweets, waffles, chocolate and other confectionery products, introduced in 2023 a limited edition of cocoa-free “chocolate”, made with rye malt and coconut oil, notes FT.

Also last year, the American Cargill began collaborating with the startup Voyage Foods, which produces chocolate and nut butters without traditional ingredients (cocoa, peanuts and hazelnuts), using grape seeds, sunflower protein flour, sugar, fats and natural aromas.

Confectioners are looking for alternatives to natural ingredients due to their record price rise. Last week, the price of cocoa bean futures on the New York ICE exchange reached a new all-time high, approaching $13,000 per ton. According to Bloomberg, one of the key ingredients for bakers is becoming more expensive due to supply shortages caused by a poor harvest in West Africa.

However, candy manufacturers who substitute natural cocoa for artificial cocoa may encounter difficulties. Annika Porr, head of Fazer’s experimental laboratory, told the Financial Times that the main thing for consumers is that the taste and texture remain the same as traditional chocolate, but to achieve this, manufacturers “have a lot of work to do.” .