Description
I sit down with Alan Perlstein, founder and CEO of California Cultured, to discuss how they are reinventing the chocolate supply chain from the ground up. Using breakthroughs in plant cell culture and biomanufacturing, Alan and his team are creating real cocoa butter, flavor, and antioxidants directly from cells. Their vision is to build modular “cocoa breweries,” where they bypass cocoa farms altogether. We dive into how this approach could decentralize cocoa production, stabilize pricing, and reshape a $100B+ global industry.
We break down:
+ Problems with the current chocolate supply chains
+ How, "tricking the cocoa cell" skips the farm entirely
+ Alan's strategy for cost parity
+ Biggest challenges with biomanufacturing
+ How California Cultured protects its IP from large corporate partners
+ Why the future of food production will be highly decentralized
+ If you're interested in decentralized production, the future of food, and/or industrial biotech, this conversation is for you.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:25 Chocolate 101: How It’s Made
06:26 Cocoa Shortage
09:00 Plant Cell Culture Explained
11:08 How Cell-based Chocolate Is Made
13:07 Secret Language of Plants
16:00 California Cultured Distribution Strategy
19:14 Roadmap to Cost Parity
22:29 Understanding Cocoa Flavonoids
25:07 Protecting IP From Large Corporate Partners
29:01 5 Reasons Why Corporations Partner with Startups
32:24 Biggest Challenges At California Cultured
37:53 Alan’s Vision For California Cultured
41:40 Version 6 Of Their Chocolate
44:39 California Cultured’s Current Status
46:52 Alan's Journey In Cell Cultured Foods
50:56 Analytics Tools Are Changing The Game For Scientists
52:56 Building Consumer Trust In Cell-Based Products
55:34 Production Timelines
59:31 Rapid Fire
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Links to Alan's Work:
California Cultured Website – https://www.californiacultured.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-perlstein/
