Partnerships & Collaboration: Scaling Sustainable Cocoa With Mondelēz International & Celleste Bio

Ahead of Future Food-Tech Chicago, we sat down with Richie Gray, VP & Global Head of SnackFutures Ventures at Mondelēz International, and Michal Beressi Golomb, CEO of Celleste Bio, for an exclusive video interview. They share insights into their groundbreaking partnership, how it’s helping to build a more resilient and sustainable cocoa supply chain, and why collaboration between a global industry leader and a cutting-edge innovator is key to driving lasting change. Driven by a shared mission to address the growing challenges in cocoa sourcing, including climate change and rising demand, the collaboration unites Celleste Bio’s cutting-edge technology with the global scale and expertise of Mondelēz. What started as a promising early-stage innovation has evolved into a close-knit partnership built on transparency, shared values, and a mutual love of chocolate. Both leaders reflect on the practical wins and challenges of scaling an entirely new cocoa solution — one that complements, rather than replaces, traditional cocoa farming. When discussing the aligned goals that sparked the collaboration, Michal explained: “We share a common mission to stabilise the cocoa industry... we’re focused on creating a more environmentally responsible supply chain and to reduce the ecological impact of the cocoa supply chain.” For Mondelēz, the partnership goes beyond financial support: “We can’t do everything ourselves. […] We need to look to great innovation from outside to help address some of the gaps we’ve got in our own innovation,” says Richie. Watch the full conversation to learn how this start-up/corporate collaboration is reimagining cocoa from the ground up and what’s next on their road to market.

Meet Richie and Michal on June 2-3 at Future Food-Tech Chicago. Richie will explore how corporates can integrate innovations like biotechnology and biomanufacturing to drive product innovation on the panel ‘Building Collaborative Success: Partnership Models Driving Breakthroughs in Food’. Michal will dive into emerging innovations and cacao alternatives amid climate and crop challenges in the panel ‘Chocolate in Crisis: Unlocking Solutions to Stabilize Supply’.