Zurich, Switzerland and Rancaekek, Indonesia, August 23, 2019 - Barry Callebaut Group, the world's leading producer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa, today announced that it has officially produced chocolate at their second chocolate factory in Rancaekek, Bandung Regency, Indonesia. This plant adopts the concept of 'Plant-in-Plant' from Barry Callebaut, where they integrate the production facilities at the customer's factory location in this case is the Rancaekek biscuit owned by Garudafood.
This announcement was made during the inauguration of the factory which was attended by Ridwan Kamil, Governor of West Java, Ben De Schryver President Barry Callebaut Asia Pacific, and Hardianto Atmadja, CEO of PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk.
Barry Callebaut's newest factory in Asia is the result of the signing of a long-term chocolate supply agreement in November 2018 with Garudafood, one of the largest food and beverage companies in Indonesia.
The investment value of this factory reaches CHF 2.8 million or IDR 40 billion. Previously, Barry Callebaut had opened its first chocolate factory in Gresik - 800 km east of Jakarta, in October 2016.
"Our second chocolate factory in Indonesia reinforces our commitment to this country. Barry Callebaut will continue to invest in the manufacturing side and continue to offer new products to our customers such as Garudafood," said Ben De Schryver, President of Barry Callebaut Asia Pacific. "We are very pleased with our longstanding relationship with Garudafood and the potential confectioneries market in Indonesia."
Hardianto Atmadja, CEO of PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk, said, "Our collaboration with Barry Callebaut, which began in 2015, is one of Garudafood's open innovation strategies in supporting Industry 4.0. Barry Callebaut's extensive activities in Indonesia contribute to the country's economy. and also supports Garudafood's achievement in producing various innovative products - especially chocolate products that have added value for consumers in Indonesia and abroad. "
Barry Callebaut and Garudafood have collaborated on various innovations and plan to develop new products that will meet the growing Indonesian chocolate market. According to Euromonitor, the annual consumption of chocolate per capita in Indonesia is only around 300 grams, while the demand for chocolate is increasing - because the sales volume of chocolate candy grows 3.4% in 2018 (1.4% CAGR 2013-2018).
In addition to the new chocolate factory in Rancaekek, Barry Callebaut has another chocolate factory in Gresik, Surabaya, and two cocoa factories located in Bandung and Makassar. The company currently has more than 550 employees throughout Indonesia, namely in Bandung, Gresik, Jakarta, Lampung and Makassar. The company is also committed to expanding its sustainability activities for cocoa farmers in Indonesia through the Forever Chocolate program.
Barry Callebaut is one of the largest chocolate and cocoa producers in the Asia Pacific. Employing more than 1,800 employees in the region, the company operates nine other chocolate and cocoa factories in Asia, namely in China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. In the past 12 months, the company has also expanded its sales operations in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, in addition to sales offices in India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Recently announced the launch of a new chocolate factory in India which is expected to be ready by mid 2020.