Bakery Biz, September-October, 2021

CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai offers inspiration, training and support for professionals

The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of highquality chocolate and cocoa products, recently inaugurated its relocated CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai, which is now at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, one of the world’s most iconic landmarks. This new location and facility serve as a creative platform where chefs and artisans can showcase and develop their talent and skills. As CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai is part of the wider CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center network with 24 academies across the globe, it will be the premier platform for bringing
renowned chefs to Dubai to inspire, train and advise local artisans.

With a team of dedicated chefs, CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai plays an important role in inspiring and educating the chocolate industry and introducing new techniques to artisans, pastry chefs, confectioners, bakers and caterers. The CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai also plays an important role in driving innovation as consumption patterns shift towards premiumization and new concepts in terms of design, colour and flavours.

Amine Mebrouki, General Manager Middle East & North Africa, said: “The chocolate market is recovering in the Middle East region. The CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai supports local
businesses in finding the right chocolate solutions to help them win in the market. From empowering women and young talents, to supporting new concepts: The CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai is the place to be in the Middle East region for everything related to chocolate.”

Rogier van Sligter, President EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), added: “This is an important moment for Barry Callebaut’s presence in the Middle East region. The relocated CHOCOLATE ACADEMY Center Dubai will strengthen the collaboration with our customers in the growing Middle East region, helping them to develop their own profile in terms of taste and flavor. Initiatives like this help to grow the Gourmet business in the Eastern part of our EMEA Region.”

Barry Callebaut inaugurates ‘The Chocolate Box’
World’s largest and most sustainable chocolate warehouse in Lokeren, Belgium

Recently inaugurated ‘The Barry Callebaut Chocolate Box’, is the new Global Distribution Center in Lokeren, Belgium. The Chocolate Box is the world’s largest chocolate warehouse and will be the logistical hub for all packed Belgian chocolate and decorations products, produced in Barry Callebaut’s chocolate factories in Wieze and Halle, Belgium.

The Chocolate Box is the result of a successful partnership between Barry Callebaut, the real estate developer WDP and the city of Lokeren. With a total investment amount of EUR 100 million, it is the largest investment Barry Callebaut has ever made in its operations network. The Chocolate Box increases the efficiency of Barry Callebaut’s global logistics and will allow the Group to serve customers even faster. Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, said: “The Chocolate Box is a milestone for Barry Callebaut. From Lokeren, all packed chocolate products – mainly under our Belgian chocolate brand Callebaut – will be shipped to the rest of the world. The Chocolate Box is an example of how we execute our smart growth strategy, increasing efficiency and serving our customers in a more sustainable way.”

BakeryBiz, Mar-Apr, 2021

The groups new chocolate and compound manufacturing plant in Baramati is its third such facility in India and its biggest investment in the country.

The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, announced the official opening of its new chocolate and compound manufacturing facility, located in Baramati, Maharashtra. The new 215,000-square foot plant, features an R&D lab and assembly lines capable of manufacturing chocolate and compound in different delivery formats. It also includes energy and water-saving solutions in the areas of infrastructure, production equipment and the overall facility energy control system. Once fully operational it will employ between 100 to 120 workers.

In addition to supplying industrial chocolate to food manufacturers and confectioneries, the factory in Baramati will also produce sustainable chocolate and compound products under the Van Houten Professional brand in the country. Barry Callebaut now offers a wide range of chocolate products in India. This includes specialties and decorations chocolates, which are also produced in Barry Callebaut’s existing factory in Baramati. These steps will help Barry Callebaut to achieve its ambition of manufacturing the finest “Make in India” chocolate.

“The new factory in Baramati celebrates India’s rich chocolate heritage and marks a new milestone in Barry Callebaut’s history of direct investment in India,” said Antoine de Saint-Affrique, Chief Executive Officer of Barry Callebaut. “It underlines our commitment to the world’s second most populous country, a confectionery market with great potential. In line with our ‘smart growth’ strategy, the new factory expands our local production footprint in the region.”

In addition to the new chocolate plant in Baramati, Barry Callebaut operates a chocolate plant in Pune (Maharashtra) and a specialties and ecorations facility in Baramati. The company also has a Chocolate Academy Center and sales office in Mumbai.

Barry Callebaut said it has experienced double-digit growth in India over the past four years as consumers have responded favorably to the company’s innovative chocolate products, including the debut of Ruby chocolate.

“The opening of our new flagship chocolate factory marks an important step forward in advancing our business across more regions of India,” said Dhruva Jyoti Sanyal, managing director of Barry Callebaut India. “This new facility underpins our ability to deliver a broad portfolio of locally  produced chocolate products that meet the increasingly diversified needs of consumers in India’s fast-growing chocolate and cocoa market.”

“The complete takeover of Biolands brings Barry Callebaut even closer to thousands of farmers committed to sustainable cocoa production”

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high quality chocolate and cocoa products, acquired the remaining 51% of Biolands Group, its long-time supplier of certified cocoa beans from East and West Africa.

Barry Callebaut has been purchasing Biolands’ top-grade cocoa since 2000 and it acquired a 49% stake in Tanzanian-based Biolands International in 2008. Since then, the model has been replicated in Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire through the establishment of Bio-United and Biopartenaire. This month the company acquired the remaining 51% of the Biolands Group, resulting in 143 full-time employees now set to join the Barry Callebaut Group.

“The complete takeover of Biolands brings Barry Callebaut even closer to thousands of farmers committed to sustainable cocoa production,” said Daudi Lelijveld, Vice President Sustainable Cocoa. “Biolands has championed quality cocoa, transparent pricing and fair business practices since it first started working with cocoa farmers in Tanzania more than 13 years ago. We look forward to accelerating ourwork together with farmers to identify pragmatic and scalable solutions to address the gaps in knowledge, materials and financing which limit the ability of farmers throughout Africa to realize productivity gains and improve livelihoods.”

The Biolands acquisition fits well with Barry Callebaut’s overall corporate strategy to become a leader in sustainable cocoa, and gain access to individual farmers in addition to cooperatives. In March 2012, Barry Callebaut launched “Cocoa Horizons”, a CHF 40 million cocoa sustainability
initiative to boost farm productivity, increase quality and improve family livelihoods in key cocoa producing countries in Africa and Asia over the next 10 years. The Initiative builds upon Barry Callebaut’s own Quality Partner Program (QPP).

Biolands is one of the largest certified organic smallholder cocoa programs in the world. Launched in Tanzania in 1999, Biolands has applied a bottom-up co-operation model, working directly with small holder farmers to ensure fair prices are paid, improve the quality of cocoa and the farmers’ quality of life. Biolands also supports local cocoa communities. Since starting training and providing support for the farmers in Tanzania in 1999, the production in the area has nearly doubled from 4,500 tonnes in 2002 to 8,000 tonnes.