Cacao Barry
Cacao Barry was founded in Hardricourt, France, by Charles Barry, an Englishman with an interest for exploring Africa in 1842.[11][12] During Barry's travels to Africa he came in contact with cocoa beans, a major component in the production of chocolate. The company began producing chocolate in 1911.[13]
In 1952, Cacao Barry became active from bean to gourmet chocolate.[14] In 1992, the holding company Société Centrale d’Investissement (SCI) gained control of Cacao Barry, then transferred 49% of the company's capital to Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille (CNP), an investment fund in financier Albert Frère's group. SCI's management approach favoured greater penetration of the UK market with the consequent opening of a new production site in the United Kingdom.[15] In 1994, shortly before the merger of 1996,[16] 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.[17] The brewery began producing chocolate bars in 1911 and soon switched entirely to chocolate production. They began producing chocolate couverture in 1925.[18] In the 1950s, Callebaut, which was still a family-run business, began exporting its products to other European and North American markets, leveraging the fact that Belgian chocolate had earned an excellent reputation for its quality. In 1981, Interfood, a subsidiary of Tobler-Suchard, bought the company.[19] Bernard Callebaut, heir of the founding family, moved to Canada, where he opened a new chocolate factory named Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut.[20] In 1983, Klaus Jacobs acquired full control of Interfood, the holding company that controlled Callebaut, and became an international confectionery leader. After a series of acquisitions in the industry, the company merged with the US company Kraft in 1987, creating Kraft Jacobs Suchard.[18]
Merger and IPO
French chocolate company Cacao Barry and Belgian chocolate company Callebaut merged in 1996 to form Barry Callebaut.[21] In 1998, Barry Callebaut was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.[22] From a business standpoint, the new Franco-Belgian confectionery company continued to grow, with Jacobs Suchard assigning it the management of Van Houten, the Dutch chocolate and cocoa powder maker founded in 1815 in Amsterdam, which Jacobs Suchard had acquired in 1986.[18] Barry Callebout also expanded its range of products, launching new brands on the market, like Bensdorp (cocoa powder), The Barry and Callebaut (gourmet chocolate and cocoa-based products) and new lines under the Barry Callebaut brand for industrial use, including cocoa powder, cocoa butter, liqueur and chocolate.
In 1999, the company acquired the US-based confectionery company Van Leer Chocolate and, the following year, it acquired the Swiss Carma-Pfister AG.[18] That same year, Barry Callebaut gained access to the South American market when it bought the Brazilian company Chadler Industrial de Bahia.
Ruby Chocolate
In September 2017, the Swiss company launched a new type of chocolate, Ruby, named after its reddish pink colour.[29] The pink hue is due to the colour of the cocoa beans used to produce the chocolate, Ruby cocoa beans, cultivated in countries with specific climatic conditions, like Ecuador, Brazil and the Ivory Coast, and processed by Barry Callebaut.[30][29]
In January 2018, Nestlé Japan Ltd. launched a Ruby chocolate-based Ruby Sublime Kit Kat in Japan, becoming the first global brand to use the pink chocolate formula developed by Barry Callebaut.[31] The product was also launched in April of the same year in the UK.[32]
Governance
From October 2015 to September 2021, Antoine de Saint-Affrique was CEO of the company, after which Peter Boone took over the position.[33] After Peter Feld replaced him in April 2023, the Group Executive Board was reduced to five people in September of the same year.[34][35] On 1 January 2023, Jo Thys replaced COO Olivier Delaunay.[36]
Acquisition and openings history
In 2005, Barry Callebaut introduced a "healthy" chocolate product called ACTICOA, which contains higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants (cocoa flavanols) than any other chocolate; some evidence indicates these flavanols have particular health benefits.[60]
At the end of 2022, the "second generation of chocolate" was announced, which, according to the company, has 50 percent less sugar than most other chocolates. In addition, the dark chocolate consists of only two ingredients and the milk chocolate of only three.[61] In the Belgian town of Wieze, Barry Callebaut operates the largest chocolate factory in the world.[62][63] Around 350,000 tons of chocolate are produced here every year.[63][64]
Ownership structure
As of May 2024, the company was 30.1% owned by Zurich-based Jacobs Holding AG, 5% by Renata Jacobs, 3.1% by BlackRock and 6.5% by UBS Fund Management.[65][66]
