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Barry Callebaut opens first Asia Pacific Cocoa Application Center

Barry Callebaut has opened its first Cocoa Application Center in Asia Pacific. The centre is said to be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, a demo kitchen, a small-scale production line and additional workspace areas and represents an investment of $200,000. It extends Barry Callebaut’s offering to industrial customers by providing prototype and concept development, product and […]

Barry Callebaut has opened its first Cocoa Application Center in Asia Pacific. The centre is said to be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, a demo kitchen, a small-scale production line and additional workspace areas and represents an investment of $200,000. It extends Barry Callebaut’s offering to industrial customers by providing prototype and concept development, product and process troubleshooting and sensory evaluation. In addition, the centre offers technical assistance and training for cocoa products as well as cocoa product and ingredient research.

Located in Pasir Gudang (in the state of Johor, Malaysia), the centre is adjacent to one of Barry Callebaut’s largest cocoa factories in Asia Pacific where cocoa ingredients (liquor, butter and powder) are easily available. The company says that this proximity to cocoa ingredients, as well as the sensory experts at the factory, will facilitate the frequent testing and tasting required in the creation of new products, applications and processes.

“With rising incomes in Asia Pacific, consumer taste is evolving; they are asking for more sophisticated flavours and colours,” said Peter Boone, Chief Innovation & Quality Officer of the Barry Callebaut Group. “Cocoa, like no other ingredient, can give them this. In our new Cocoa Application Center in Pasir Gudang, we will work closely with our industrial customers to co-create the consumer products of tomorrow: unique products that taste delicious, look appealing and are easy to process.”

“Barry Callebaut has the longest experience in cocoa manufacturing, and its premium powder brand Bensdorp will celebrate its 175th anniversary this year,” said Edmund Ee, Barry Callebaut’s President for Cocoa Asia Pacific. “Building upon this strong European heritage, our new Cocoa Application Center in Asia Pacific reflects our strategic commitment to innovation and to creating value-added services for our customers. Our expertise in innovation, coupled with their market know-how, will enable our customers to differentiate their products and to drive future growth.”

In Asia Pacific, Barry Callebaut has a total of four Application Centers as well as nine chocolate and cocoa factories. In addition to the new Cocoa Application Center in Pasir Gudang, Barry Callebaut also operates a Cocoa Research Center in Selborne Estate (in the state of Pahang, Malaysia) which focuses on research into inter-cropping, pest and disease management and soil management to promote increased productivity and biodiversity at cocoa farm level.