Barry Callebaut

Infobox_Company
company_name = Barry Callebaut
company_
company_type = Public
(Swiss Exchange|SWX)
company_slogan =
foundation = Merger of Cacao Barry and Callebaut in 1996
location = Zurich, Switzerland
area_served = Worldwide
num_employees = 7500 ("2006")
products = Chocolate
homepage = [http://www.barry-callebaut.com/ Barry-Callebaut.com]

Barry Callebaut is a multi-national chocolate manufacturing company. The majority of its activities is in business-to-business sales to other food manufacturers, although they also sell some consumer products. Barry Callebaut was created in merger of the Belgian company Callebaut and the French company Cacao Barry. It is now based in Zürich, Switzerland, and operates in 25 countries worldwide. The company prides itself in being the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate – from the cocoa bean to the finished product on the store shelf. Its main competitors include Nestle, Kraft and Hershey's.

History

Cacao Barry

Cacao Barry was founded by Charles Barry in France in 1842. The company's founder travelled to Africa to seek out a selection of cocoa beans that would enable him to create his first connoisseur’s chocolate. In 1923, Alexandre Lacarré took over the reigns and carried out a number of ambitious projects for the company. In 1952, Cacao Barry became active from bean to gourmet chocolate. In 1963, the company created of the "Baking Sticks" and simultaneously the chocolate croissant (“pains au chocolat”). In 1973, they lauanched the “Your demonstration partner” brand to introduce personalized assistance & support to professionals. In 1994, shortly before the merger of 1996, they launched the Pure Origin brand.

Callebaut

Callebaut was a Belgian company, founded by Eugenius Callebaut as a brewery in Wieze, Belgium, in 1850. The brewery began producing chocolate bars in 1911 and soon switched entirely to chocolate production. They started creating chocolate couverture in 1925. In 2004, the Wieze factory was moved to Oostende, at the Belgian sealine, to take advantage of wind power as a source of electricity.

Bernard Callebaut

One of Eugenius Callebaut's great-great-grandsons, Bernard Callebaut, opened his own chocolate company in Calgary, Alberta. This firm (called Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut) is not affiliated with Barry Callebaut.

Merger & IPO

In 1996 the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut and the French chocolate company Cacao Barry joined forces, creating a new company called Barry Callebaut. By that time, both Cacao Barry and Callebaut were recognized in the food industry as reliable suppliers of high-quality products and as dependable business partners for thousands of wholesale and retail specialists in the chocolate industry.

In 1998 Barry Callebaut was listed on the Swiss Exchange SWX. As of June 2002, the CEO of Barry Callebaut company is the Belgian Patrick De Maeseneire. In 2007, the company has 35 factories located in 17 countries, producing an annual 530,000 tons of chocolate, out of which 220,000 tons is produced in the Belgian Wieze factory. The company has 9500 employees worldwide.

Acquisitions since original merger

In 1999 the company acquired Swiss chocolate maker Carma AG. In 2002, the combined firm bought the famed U.S. confectioner Brach's. In 2002 the group bought Stollwerck in Germany. This made them the second-largest chocolate producer in the world.

These acquisitions were followed in 2003 by the acquisition of Dutch-Belgian company Luijckx Chocoladen N.V., AM Foods amba (Vending mixes) in Sweden in 2004, and FPI Food Processing International in the U.S in 2007. Next to its acquisitions, Barry Callebaut recently opened chocolate factories in Russia and in China.

Barry Callebaut is now present in 25 countries, operates about 40 production facilities, employs approximately 7,500 people and has annual sales of more than CHF 4 billion fiscal year 2006/07. The company serves the entire food industry, from food manufacturers to professional users of chocolate (such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), to global retailers. It also provides a comprehensive range of services in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing.

Full list

* 1999 Acquisition of Carma AG in Switzerland
* 2002 Acquisition of the Stollwerck Group in Germany
* 2003 Acquisition of Dutch Group Graverboom B.V. (including Luijckx B.V.)
* 2003 Acquisition of Brach’s Confections Holding Inc. in the U.S.
* 2004 Acquisition of the vending mix business of AM Foods in Sweden
* 2004 Opening of a sales office in Tokyo, Japan
* 2005 Opening of a chocolate factory in California, U.S.
* 2007 Opening of a chocolate factory in Russia
* 2007 Construction of a chocolate factory in China
* 2007 Start of construction of a chocolate factory in Mexico
* 2007 Divestment of Brach’s sugar-candy business
* 2007 Major outsourcing contracts with Nestlé, Hershey’s and Cadbury
* 2007 Opening of a sales office and Chocolate Academy in Mumbai, India
* 2008 Opening of a chocolate factory in Suzhou/Shanghai, China

Products

The company's primary products are baking chocolate and cocoa powder sold to consumers and professional bakers. In 2005, the company introduced a "healthy" chocolate product called Acticoa, which contains higher levels of polyphenols, compounds that may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of certain kinds of cancer. Acticoa chocolate is available in Germany under the brand Sarotti and in Belgium under the brand Jacques. [ [http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=64223-barry-callebaut-acticoa-cocoa-polyphenol Barry Callebaut chocolate could be good for the brain ] ]

Awards

*In November 2005, America's Test Kitchen named Callebaut's cocoa powder its top brand for baking. It had previously named Callebaut's baking chocolate its "best value" in taste tests.
*In April 2007, Barry Callebaut CEO De Maeseneire received the "Vlerick Award" from the Alumni of the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
*In the January & February 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Callebaut's Intense Dark Chocolate, L-60-40NV topped the recommended list in a tasting of dark chocolate. [Citation
last = McManus
first = Lisa
title = The Truth About Dark Chocolate
newspaper = Cook's Illustrated
pages = pp 26-27
year = 2008
date = January & February 2008
url = http://www.cooksillustrated.com/tasting.asp?tastingid=616]

Chocolate Academies

In various locations all over the world, Barry Callebaut has set up training centres for chocolate professionals who wish to improve their working skills in chocolate and learn about new trends, techniques and recipes. Chocolate academies are currently located in Wieze (Belgium), St. Hyacinthe (Canada), Meulan (France), Lodz (Poland), Singapore, Zürich (Switzerland), Banbury (United Kingdom), Suzhou (China), and recently Mumbai (India) and Chicago(USA).

References

External links

* [http://www.barry-callebaut.com/ Company website]
* [http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20080109&ID=8013517&Symbol=HSY Associate Press Report]
* [http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/07/13/afx3910576.html Forbes News]