Barry Callebaut is among the world's largest cocoa processors and chocolate manufacturers, with an average annual production of 2.0 million tonnes of cocoa & chocolate. It was created in 1996 through the merging of the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut and the French company Cacao Barry. It is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland, and operates in over 30 countries worldwide. It was created in its present form by Klaus Johann Jacobs. Its customers include multinational and national branded consumer goods manufacturers and artisanal users of chocolate.
History
Cacao Barry
Cacao Barry was founded by Charles Barry in France in 1842. The company's founder traveled 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 reins 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 "Baking Sticks" and simultaneously the chocolate croissant. In 1973, they launched the "Your demonstration partner" brand to introduce personalized assistance and support to professionals. In 1994, shortly before the merger of 1996, they launched the Pure Origine of Cacao Barry 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 began producing chocolate couverture in 1925.
Merger and IPO
Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut and French chocolate company Cacao Barry merged in 1996 to form Barry Callebaut. In 1998, Barry Callebaut was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Acquisitions since original merger
In 1999 the company acquired Swiss chocolate maker Carma AG. In 2002, the group bought German companyStollwerck. These acquisitions were followed in 2003 by the acquisition of Dutch-Belgian company Luijckx Chocoladen N.V., AM Foods amba in Sweden in 2004, FPI Food Processing International in the U.S in 2007 and KL-Kepong Cocoa Products Sdn Bhd in Malaysia in 2008. It sold Stollwerck in 2011. Barry Callebaut also opened chocolate factories in Turkey, Russia, China, Brazil, and Mexico. Barry Callebaut is present in over 30 countries, operates about 60 production facilities, employs 11,570 people, and has annual sales of CHF 6,9 billion. The company serves the food industry from manufacturers to professional users of chocolate, to global retailers. It also provides a comprehensive range of services in the fields of product development, processing, training, and marketing.
In 2005, Barry Callebaut introduced a "healthy" chocolate product called ACTICOA, which contains higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants than any other chocolate; some evidence indicates these flavanols have particular health benefits.
Criticism
Deforestation
On September 13, 2017 NGO Mighty Earth released a report documenting findings that Barry Callebaut purchases cocoa grown illegally in national parks and other protected forests in the Ivory Coast. The report accused Barry Callebaut of endangering the forest habitats of chimpanzees, elephants and other wildlife populations by purchasing cocoa linked to deforestation. As a result of cocoa production, 7 of the 23 Ivorian protected areas have been almost entirely converted to cocoa. Barry Callebaut was notified of the findings of Mighty Earth’s investigation and did not deny that the company sourced its cocoa from protected areas in the Ivory Coast.
