Galy Launches WunderHaus Cell-Cultured Cocoa for B2B Sales
The market for cocoa alternatives is continuing to expand as biotech startup Galy launches WunderHaus, a cell-cultured cocoa product made for professional kitchens and brands that launched this month.
First reported by U.K. outlet Green Queen, WunderHaus is kicking off its foodservice rollout with Boston-based restaurant Troquet on South, with additional restaurants and hospitality accounts expected to introduce menu items made with the cocoa this winter.
“Our current products combine Galy cocoa with conventionally sourced cocoa ingredients as part of our approach to building a scalable, resilient supply chain in collaboration with cocoa producers,” Galy co-founder and CEO Luciano Bueno told Green Queen.
Galy has specialized in lab-grown commodities, previously launching a man-made cotton.
The Rise of Alt-Cocoa
Chocolate producers have struggled for years now as cocoa prices hit record highs amid climate woes, crop disease and global trade disruptions led to price spikes. However, cocoa prices this year have stabilized, hitting a three-year low this spring before rising again in the summer, according to Trading Economics.
The crop challenges have led companies such as Hershey to implement double-digit price increases for their consumer-facing products to offset the rising input costs.
Though they’ve improved significantly from high points in 2024 and 2025, average cocoa prices are still more than double what they were four years ago.
However, with El Niño expected to impact crops through next year, manufacturers are again bracing for challenged supplies and higher price points.
More Brands Enter, Conglomerates Take Notice
Galy is not the only startup creating cocoa from plant cells, companies including Food Brewer, Komodo and California Cultured have previously released their own cell-based alternatives.
Beyond the B2B space, brands such as WNWN have positioned chocolate alternatives as consumer products.
Big companies are also paying attention. This year, Cargill expanded its partnership with Voyage Foods, a California-based foodtech company which makes a number of alternative items, including a cocoa-free chocolate made with grape seeds and shea butter. Voyage told Nosh last month it is expanding capacity to meet rising demand from customers, including Cargill.
“When we got into the big leagues we knew we would need to expand to meet Cargill’s demand for our cocoa-free chocolate and grow our [bean-free] coffee capabilities to be relevant for the large FMCGs both domestically and internationally,” Voyage CEO Adam Maxwell told Nosh. “We’re at the point where we can meet both the scale and requirements to service the needs of really any large-scale customer.”
