By MASAKI HASHIDA/ Staff Writer
October 12, 2025 at 07:00 JST
Cell-cultured cacao beans in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji on Sept. 2 (Masaki Hashida)
Confectionery maker Meiji announced plans to sell chocolate-flavored foods made with cell-cultured cacao in the United States as early as next year.
Cacao prices have soared in recent years due to poor harvests caused by abnormal weather key production areas in Africa, while speculative money flooded the market.
This made it difficult to maintain sustainability of the industry.
Cacao is produced in tropical areas with a hot and humid climate between 20 degrees north and south of the equator, the so-called cacao belt.
The International Cacao Organization (ICCO) estimates that 4.3 million tons of cacao were produced worldwide between October 2022 and September of the following year.
But production in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, two major production areas in West Africa, drastically decreased from the same period of the previous year due to frequent torrential rain and drought, coupled with outbreaks of disease and pests.
CACAO CRISIS
Meantime, speculative money began pouring into the market, disrupting the balance of supply and demand.
Cocoa bean prices tripled between 2023 and 2024, hitting a record high in the New York market in December 2024.
Alarmed by the “cacao crisis,” Meiji Holdings Co. teamed up with California Cultured Inc. to develop food products made with cell-cultured cacao.
The U.S. startup has technology to extract cells from natural cacao to proliferate and culture them in large quantities.
Cell-cultured cacao is rich in flavanols, a type of polyphenol.
Flavanols are known to increase good cholesterol and help lower the blood pressure of hypertensive patients.
“We hope it will help avoid the risks of poor harvests and price increases of cacao in the future,” said Toru Kawahatsu, who works at Meiji’s Wellness Science Lab.
Meiji is currently making prototypes of chocolate-flavored foods at its facility in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji, with the aim of commercial production in the United States in 2026.
“There are differences in the aroma components when compared to natural cacao,” said Kenji Kaieda, a senior researcher at Meiji's research headquarters. “We are seeking ways to improve the aroma.”
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