The Barry Callebaut Group announced the official opening of its new chocolate and compound manufacturing facility, located in Baramati, India. The new factory is Barry Callebaut’s third factory in India and represents its biggest investment in the country to date.  

The new chocolate factory and warehouse include an R&D lab and assembly lines capable of manufacturing chocolate and compound in different delivery formats. Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, said: “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. 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.”

Once fully operational, the 20,000 square meter facility will employ between 100 to 120 people, thus creating new skilled jobs, mainly in engineering and production. The new plant also features a variety of energy and water-saving solutions in the areas of infrastructure, production equipment and the overall facility energy control system.

Over the last four years, Barry Callebaut has seen double-digit growth in India. Demand for high-quality chocolate has been rising, which has prompted a concurrent increase in domestic chocolate production. 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.