A historic cocoa shortage has forced chocolate makers to rethink sourcing, pricing, and innovation. Now Mars is turning to advanced gene-editing technology in hopes of protecting the crop at the heart of its global brands.
CRISPR Moves From Lab to Cocoa Farms
Mars has licensed the Fulcrum® CRISPR platform from North Carolina–based Pairwise, giving the candy maker access to precision tools designed to accelerate plant breeding. The technology allows scientists to activate or deactivate traits that could make cocoa trees more resistant to disease, drought, and rising temperatures.
For Mars, the move is both defensive and strategic. Cocoa prices have surged to record levels in 2025 as drought, aging trees, and plant disease erode output in West Africa, which produces about 70% of the world’s supply. Hershey and Lindt have already raised retail prices by double digits, while also shifting innovation toward ingredients less exposed to volatility, such as wafers and peanut butter.
“CRISPR has the potential to improve crops in ways that support and strengthen global supply chains,” said Carl Jones, plant sciences director at Mars, in an official statement. “Our focus is to conduct research transparently and responsibly to help crops better adapt to climate challenges, disease pressures, and resource constraints.”
The Race to Stabilize Cocoa Supply
Mars is not alone in seeking alternatives to traditional farming. Mondelēz has invested in lab-grown cocoa, while Nestlé and Hershey have directed millions toward farmer training and sustainable cultivation. Yet, despite these efforts, executives warn that supply remains fragile. Lindt CEO Adalbert Lechner recently noted that plant diseases continue to threaten West African farms, adding to uncertainty even as demand softens.
Pairwise’s Fulcrum platform has already been applied to seedless blackberries and mustard greens, suggesting that cocoa could be next in line for accelerated breeding breakthroughs. Unlike conventional methods, which can take decades, CRISPR-based approaches may shorten the development cycle for hardier cocoa strains, critical as climate pressures mount.
Beyond Cocoa: The Quiet Risk of Over-Reliance
While Mars’s bet on CRISPR reflects confidence in science to secure supply, it also underscores a larger blind spot: the chocolate industry’s heavy dependence on a single geography. Trade reports show that West Africa’s dominance in cocoa production leaves manufacturers highly vulnerable to regional weather patterns, political instability, and labor shortages. Even with gene-edited crops, geographic diversification will remain a pressing strategic question.
As chocolate makers pursue price hikes, ingredient substitution, and biotechnological fixes, the more durable solution may be a shift toward broader sourcing bases, much as coffee companies have diversified beyond traditional growing regions. For Mars, CRISPR may buy time, but the real resilience test will come from how quickly the industry moves to reduce its reliance on West Africa’s fragile farms.
