Kokomodo Partners With Coop Switzerland to Explore Integration of Cultivated Cacao Into Confectionery
Cultivated cacao producer Kokomodo has announced a partnership with the chocolate company Chocolats Halba, which is a division of Switzerland’s largest retailer and wholesaler, Coop. The collaboration will explore the integration of Kokomodo’s cacao into sustainable confectionery products, evaluating the functionality, sensory performance, and scalability of the ingredient in industrial settings. The partnership is facilitated by Kickstart Innovation, a platform that accelerates the market adoption of breakthrough technologies through startup-corporate …
Pluri Enters Strategic International Collaborations That Could Expand Its Market Presence in Cultivated Meat, Cacao & Coffee
Pluri, a biotech company that has created a proprietary platform for cell‑based solutions, has entered a series of strategic international collaborations through its foodtech and agtech subsidiaries. The partnerships will advance Pluri’s mission to transform food and agriculture production through 3D cell-expansion technology and scalable innovations. Ever After Foods, Pluri’s cultivated meat subsidiary, is now executing several programs with food and cultivated meat companies across Asia and the US. The …
Pluri Secures $6.5 Million Investment and Acquires Majority Stake in Cell-Based Cacao Producer Kokomodo
Biotechnology firm Pluri Inc., a company specializing in cell-based technology, has announced a $6.5 million private investment led by global investor Alejandro Weinstein. As part of the transaction, Weinstein will join Pluri’s Board of Directors. Concurrently, the company is acquiring a 71% stake in Israeli AgTech firm Kokomodo Ltd., which focuses on cultivated cacao production, for $4.5 million in common shares. The proceeds from the investment will be used to …
Chocolate Giant Puratos Makes Strategic Investment in California Cultured’s Cell-Based Cacao
California Cultured, a startup pioneering plant cell culture to produce cacao, has received an undisclosed investment from Sparkalis, the food tech venture arm of the Belgian international group Puratos. The new capital will fund the startup’s scaling operations at an upcoming new facility (currently under construction) to bring a cell-based cocoa powder product to the market. Filip Arnaut, managing director of Sparkalis, commented: “At Sparkalis, we seek out visionary startups …
Kokomodo Creates Cultivated Cacao, Preserving Climate-Proof Supplies for the Future of Confectionery
Climate change poses a significant threat to the future supply of cacao (the unprocessed version of cocoa), with the majority of farmland predicted to become unfit for production by 2050. Recent severe weather events have negatively impacted cacao harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s biggest producers, causing significant shortages and high prices. But Kokomodo, a startup leveraging plant cell technology to “cultivate cocoa’s future” aims to ensure a stable, …
Food Brewer Secures Over CHF 5M for Cell Cultured Cacao & Coffee
Food Brewer AG, a biotech startup leveraging plant cell culture headquartered in Campus Horgen, Zurich, Switzerland, has raised over CHF 5 million in a seed round. Various investors, including family offices from Switzerland and the USA, the Zürcher Kantonalbank, and chocolate manufacturer Max Felchlin AG, backed the startup’s biotechnological approach to making alternatives to cocoa, coffee, and sustainable fats. With the new funds, Food Brewer will invest in R&D for its cell lines, expand …