The Barry Callebaut Group announced the opening of their new global CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ training centre, located in Casablanca, Morocco. With the opening of this academy, the company now has 26 such facilities globally, 2 of which are located on the African continent.
The purpose of the academies, according to the company, is to facilitate collaboration and innovation amongst professionals, allowing them to develop skills and recipes while learning about cutting-edge techniques and industry trends.
The company’s general manager for the Middle East & North Africa, Amine Mebrouki, highlighted that consumer trends in North Africa are shifting towards premium chocolate products: “The gourmet chocolate market is growing fast in the North African region.”
“With the Chocolate Academy Centre Casablanca, we support local businesses in finding the right chocolate solutions to help them win in the market. In Morocco and beyond, this will be the place to be for artisans and professionals in chocolate,” says Mebrouki.
The new centre aims to attract a variety of professionals, ranging from North African pastry chefs, bakers, and confectioners to artisans, and support them in exploring and furthering their knowledge of working with chocolate.
This is an important moment for our presence in the North African region. The Chocolate Academy Centre Casablanca will strengthen the collaboration with our customers in the North African market and help us to further expand our position in Gourmet & Specialties in the region.
Rogier van Sligter, President EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) of Barry Callebaut.
Barry Callebaut opened their first CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2018, and the group’s 21st academy worldwide. In that same year, the centre went digital by launching the world’s first e-learning platform for chocolate, CHOCOLATE ACADEMY™ Online, to widen its reach to chocolate lovers.