Barry Callebaut has broken ground on a new chocolate and compound manufacturing facility in India, a project that represents the firm’s largest investment in the country to date.
Located in Baramati, about 250km south-east of Mumbai, the factory and warehouse will include 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 greenfield facility will cover a total of 20,000 square metres and is scheduled to be operational by mid-2020. Once up and running, it will have an annual production capacity of more than 30,000 tons of chocolate and compound.
Together with its existing chocolate academy in Mumbai, Barry Callebaut intends to advance its work with customers to co-create innovative chocolate for local consumers. This week, the company also moved its sales operations into a new, larger office in Mumbai.
“As a global leader in the chocolate industry, we are excited about India’s great growth potential,” said Ben De Schryver, president of Barry Callebaut in Asia Pacific.
“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. 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.”
According to Nielsen data, sales volumes of chocolate confectionery in India grew by 16% in 2018.
Dhruva Jyoti Sanyal, managing director for Barry Callebaut India, said: “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. 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.”
Earlier this year, Barry Callebaut inaugurated a new chocolate academy and office in Beijing to extend distribution to second-tier Chinese cities.
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