Earlier this year the company announced plans to invest USD 104 million in the new plant which will include both office space for corporate operations and chocolate processing. The plant will be focused on sugar-free, high protein, and other specialty chocolate products.
Barry Callebaut now disclosed the location to be, 4 Bowery Road, Brantford, Ontario, located inside the Northwest Industrial Park.
We didn’t see an immediate definition of what they meant by specialty, but the sugar free and protein segment, are seen as a defensive play against the growing awareness of health issues related to high-sugar products. In a discussion at Chocoa this year, however, I do remember someone telling me that the big chocolate companies will never drop the sugar/fat combo, because while alternatives exist, they are not as addictive.
The new operation is the first new factory for Barry Callebaut in North America since 2008 and is expected to bring more than 200 jobs to Canada.