New Ways to Grow Cocoa And Chocolate Alternatives Developed
Climate change is stressing the rainforests where cacao trees are grown, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes.
Cacao trees grow about 20 degrees north and south of the equator in regions with warm weather and abundant rain. Climate change is expected to dry out these areas. But the market for chocolate is massive and is expected to grow, with sales in the United States surpassing $25 billion in 2023.
To meet this demand, companies are coming up with different solutions: producing chocolatey-tasting cocoa alternatives, finding new ways to grow cocoa and researching how to make the cacao crop more resilient.
Planet A Foods in Germany, says the taste of mass market chocolate mostly comes from the way it is produced rather than the cocoa bean itself. The company tested out alternative ingredients ranging from olives to seaweed before settling on a mix of oats and sunflower seeds as the best tasting chocolate alternative. They call it "ChoViva" and say it can be substituted into baked goods.
Other companies are trying to bolster the supply of cocoa where it naturally grows. Mars, which makes M&Ms and Snickers, has a research facility at University of California, Davis aimed at making cacao trees more resilient. The facility has a collection of cacao trees so scientists can study what makes them disease-resistant.
Meanwhile, the California Cultured company is growing cocoa from cell cultures at a facility in California, and plans to start selling its products next year. It grows cocoa bean cells in a vat with sugar water where they reach maturity in a week rather than the six to eight months of a traditional harvest. The process also requires less water and labor.
"We see just the demand of chocolate monstrously outstripping what is going to be available," said Alan Perlstein, the company's chief executive. He believes without new methods the world won't be able to significantly increase the supply of cocoa or keep it at affordable levels.
