Callebaut signs agreement with Bunge in Brazil
Barry Callebaut Brasil, subsidiary of the manufacturer of cocoa and chocolate products, and Bunge Alimentos, a subsidiary of Brazilian agribusiness company Bunge Limited, have signed a distribution agreement.
Bunge will assume the exclusive distribution of artisanal chocolate products made by Barry Callebaut in Brazil through the Food Service channel and the two companies will jointly develop a range of compound and chocolate products under the Sicao (Barry Callebaut) and the Gradina (Bunge) brand, respectively. These products are designed to meet the specific needs of the food service/bakery market in Brazil.
Bunge also plans to offer tailor-made services to food service customers, such as technical advice or training courses, benefiting from Barry Callebaut’s experience in other regions of the world.
The Brazilian food service segment is estimated to have a size of about 60,000 tonnes per year for chocolate and compound products, according to ECD Consulting. The target volume for Barry Callebaut and Bunge is to capture a share of about 10,000 tonnes within three years.
Patrick De Maeseneire, the outgoing CEO of Barry Callebaut, says, “South America is the only significant chocolate market worldwide where we do not have a chocolate factory of our own yet. Our renewed focus on our core business with industrial and artisanal customers allows us now to fully concentrate on expanding our business in South America. Bunge has the largest distribution network in Brazil. Every day, it serves about 25,000 points of sale. Based on the distribution agreement with Bunge, we are planning the construction of a chocolate factory in the southeast region of Brazil. Our goal for this factory is to have an annual production capacity of about 20,000 tonnes and to be operational by the end of 2009.”
