Consumer Trials Put Sun Bear Biofuture’s Yeast Fat Level With Cocoa Butter in Four of Five Products

Consumer trials conducted by the Centre for Nutrition and Health at Oxford Brookes University found that a cocoa butter alternative derived from yeast by UK biotech startup Sun Bear Biofuture was rated equal to or ahead of conventional cocoa butter in four out of five products tested. The panel assessed three food products and two cosmetics products, with participants correctly identifying the microbial version in only one of the five products.

In a second set of trials at University of the Arts London, the company's ingredient was compared to cocoa butter in a hand balm formulation and was found to behave as a direct swap for cocoa butter in terms of manufacture and function. Sun Bear Biofuture aims to scale up production by the end of 2027 and have full industrial operations by 2029, offering a sustainable alternative to tropical oil supply chains and reducing the carbon footprint associated with palm oil and cocoa butter production. CEO Ben Wilding expressed confidence in the new ingredient options provided by their fats and oils.