To help meet growing demand for chocolate products in Asia, Cargill is partnering with a manufacturer in western India to launch its first chocolate manufacturing operation in the region. 

The facility is expected to begin operating mid-2021 and will initially produce 10,000 tons of chocolate compounds. 

“Asia is a key growth market for Cargill,” said Francesca Kleemans, managing director Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate Asia-Pacific. “Opening a chocolate manufacturing operation in India allows us to increase our regional footprint and capabilities in Asia to better support the needs of our local Indian customers as well as multinational customers in the region. It also demonstrates our commitment to supporting the local economy with the addition of 100 new manufacturing jobs.”

Customers can tap into Cargill’s R&D network of food scientists and experts at the company’s state-of-the-art regional innovation centers in Singapore, Shanghai and India and innovate with chocolate products that bring sensory experiences specific to regional and local tastes and consumption patterns. Customers also benefit from Cargill’s globally integrated cocoa and chocolate supply chain, risk management capabilities and its renowned food safety and sustainability approach to cocoa and chocolate production.

 “Combining local insights from our experience and long-term presence as a food ingredient supplier in India with our global cocoa and chocolate expertise, we aim to become the leading supplier and trusted partner for our bakery, ice cream and confectionery customers in Asia, who will use our chocolate compounds, chips and paste to create products that will delight local palates,” Kleemans said.

Cargill established its cocoa presence in Asia in 1995 in Makassar, Indonesia, with a team designated to support trading and supply management of cocoa to Cargill processing plants in Europe and Brazil. In 2014, Cargill opened a cocoa processing plant in Gresik, Indonesia, to make premium Gerkens cocoa products.