The Barry Callebaut Group has opened a new chocolate and compound manufacturing facility in Baramati, India, representing the company’s biggest investment in India to date.

Barry Callebaut’s new factory is located about 250 kilometers south-east of Mumbai. The new chocolate factory and warehouse include an R&D lab and 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 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. “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, 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.

In addition to the new chocolate factory in Baramati, Barry Callebaut’s production network in India includes another chocolate factory in Pune (Maharashtra) and a specialties and decorations factory, also located in Baramati. Together with its existing Chocolate Academy Center and sales office in Mumbai, the company is well positioned to expand its work with customers to cocreate innovative chocolate for local consumers.

Over the last four years, Barry Callebaut has seen double-digit growth in India, along with an enthusiastic consumer response towards innovative chocolate such as Ruby chocolate. Demand for high-quality chocolate has been rising, which has prompted a concurrent increase in domestic chocolate production.

“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, 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.”

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. 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.