Volume 18 2026 LAB-GROWN CHOCOLATE: CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS Authors Rahman M. Z. A.1,4*, Jainuddin H.1, Abdullah M. F.1, Daud A. B.1, Lea J.1, Norasekin T.1, Roslina M. S.1, Durahman D. R.1, Ishak Z.2, Fisal A.2, Mohtar N. S.3 and Mazian, M. A.4 ABSTRACT The cocoa and chocolate industry faces severe pressure. Climate change, plant disease, deforestation, and chronic farmer poverty have pushed cocoa futures to record levels and raised doubts about the long-term security of conventional cacao (Theobroma cacao) supply. In response, a group of biotechnology derived ingredients, referred to here as lab-grown chocolate, has begun to move from the laboratory toward early commercial use. This review examines the current scientific and industry literature on two related but separate routes. The first is plant cell culture, or cellular agriculture, in which dedifferentiated cacao cells are grown in bioreactors to produce cocoa biomass, butter, and powder. The second covers cocoa-free or precision fermentation analogues, which rebuild the sensory profile of chocolate from non-cacao feedstocks such as oats, sunflower seeds, carob, or grape-seed byproducts. Using recent industry reporting, regulatory filings, university research, and the adjacent peer-reviewed work on cocoa fermentation chemistry and life-cycle assessment, the review describes the state of the technology, the firms and institutions behind it, the regulatory routes under way in the United States and European Union, the main technical obstacles, and the socioeconomic and environmental questions it raises for producing countries. Commercial-scale cell-cultured cocoa products are expected to reach professional and consumer markets between late 2026 and 2027, but real uncertainty remains over cost parity, approval timelines outside the US, consumer acceptance, and the effect of the technology on smallholder livelihoods in West Africa and Latin America. VIEW PDF DOWNLOAD