Barry Callebaut expands in India

The Barry Callebaut Group, a manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, has broken ground on its new chocolate and compound manufacturing facility in Baramati, India – about 250 km south-east of Mumbai.

Upon completion, the new chocolate factory and warehouse will include state-of-the-art assembly lines capable of manufacturing chocolate and compound in different delivery formats, catering to the various needs of its customers – international food manufacturers, local confectioneries and semi-industrial bakers and patisseries.

The new greenfield facility in Baramati will cover a total of 20,000 m2 and is scheduled to be operational by mid-2020. Once fully operational, it will have an annual production capacity of more than 30,000 tons of chocolate and compound and employ between 100 – 120 people, thus creating new skilled jobs, mainly in engineering and production.

The factory in Baramati will also be equipped with an R&D lab. Furthermore, together with its existing Chocolate Academy Centre in Mumbai, the company intends to advance its work with customers to co-create innovative chocolate for local consumers. This week, Barry Callebaut also moved its sales operations into a new, larger office in Mumbai.

The plant represents Barry Callebaut’s biggest investment in India, and is tied to the country’s rapidly developing demand for high-quality chocolate, and will serve to meet the growing needs of Barry Callebaut’s customers.

“As a global leader in the chocolate industry, we are excited about India’s great growth potential. The new factory will be one of our biggest locations in Asia and it will enable us to meet customers’ growing demands for high-quality chocolate in India,” said Ben De Schryver, president of Barry Callebaut in Asia Pacific

“We are proud to deepen our presence here and to continue to invest in a country that has been so welcoming to us for more than a decade. Our expansion will support our business volume growth and ambition to become the leading industrial chocolate manufacturer in India.”

India is one of the fastest growing markets for the chocolate confectionery industry. Sales volume of chocolate confectionery in India grew +16% in 2018 (+6.5% CAGR 2013-2018), according to Nielsen. The chocolate confectionery market in India is expected to continue to show strong growth in the coming five years, according to Euromonitor.

“India is an exciting market where innovation in chocolate is well received by consumers. As an innovation leader, we are proud to bring our innovative capabilities into a market where domestic chocolate production is increasing,” said Dhruva Jyoti Sanyal, managing director for Barry Callebaut India.

“We have experienced double-digit growth in India over the last three years. Our confidence in the future development of the chocolate market in India, together with the desire to better serve our customers in India, has prompted the expansion of our footprint and services.”

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