Macalat, Making Chocolates With Mycelium, Bought by Birmingham Chocolate

May 21, 2025

The emerging dark chocolate brand uses mushroom mycelium to reduce bitterness.

Birmingham Chocolate, a Birmingham, Mich., maker of artisan chocolate, has acquired Macalat, an “emerging” dark chocolate brand featuring organic, sweet, dark chocolate that is sugar-free,” and employs mushroom mycelium to reduce bitterness. Price was not disclosed.

“This innovative, 70% cacao bar blends flavorful superfoods like lucuma and Madagascar vanilla, and is completely sugar-free and remarkably bitter-free — thanks in part to a groundbreaking application of mushroom mycelium from MycoTechnology, which helps eliminate bitterness,” said Doug Cale, CEO of Birmingham Chocolate. “In my view, this is the most exciting innovation in chocolate since Hershey introduced milk chocolate.”

In June, Birmingham Chocolate plans to introduce new Macalat line extensions in bar format using the original Macalat couverture chocolate:

Original uses Peruvian Criollo and Forestero beans.
Quinoa, a protein superfood, adds crunch.
Raspberry.

Additionally, Macalat treats will soon be offered in resealable stand-up pouches, featuring:

Macalat Bark Thins with crunchy popped quinoa.
Mango enrobed in the sweet dark chocolate.
Medjool dates offering a low glycemic option.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.