Chocolate and cocoa products maker Barry Callebaut has opened its first chocolate factory in Indonesia.
The company had entered into a long-term agreement for out-sourcing with GarudaFood Group.
As per the deal, GarudaFood will supply at least 10,000 tonnes of compound chocolate per year to Barry Callebaut and will help the Swiss chocolate maker in setting up operations in the country.
The new three-storey, 4000 m2 factory of Barry Callebaut has been built on the premises of GarudaFood’s biscuit plant in Gresik Regency. It will initially employ about 50 people.
Barry Callebaut CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: “The new chocolate factory in Gresik marks an important cornerstone in Barry Callebaut's strategy to strengthen our position as a leader in all key markets in Asia Pacific.
“It also enables us to grow our already significant presence in Indonesia – an important emerging market with about 260 million people that offers above-average growth opportunities.
“We are truly excited that our strong relationship with GarudaFood and this new factory will provide GarudaFood with the means to quickly differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.”
In June this year, the company made a commitment to make its activities sustainable, especially for cocoa farmer in Indonesia.
GarudaFood Group CEO Hardianto Atmadja said: “The chocolate production lines at the Barry Callebaut factory allow us to focus our manufacturing facilities in Indonesia on biscuits and strengthen the factory as a key competence center for our biscuits products in Indonesia.
“This move will help us to further develop our successful biscuit brands.”
Barry Callebaut now has its presence across 8 countries in Asia-Pacific region. It first entered the Asian market in 1997 and had setup a factory in Singapore. It now operates 5 factories in the Asian region.
