The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, has signed an agreement to acquire Europe Chocolate Company (ECC), a Belgian privately-owned B2B manufacturer of chocolate specialties and decorations.
This strategic acquisition expands the Group’s value adding specialties capabilities, allowing Barry Callebaut to cater to the increasing demand of Food Manufacturers for highly customized specialty chocolate and decorations. The integration of ECC expands Barry Callebaut’s specialized chocolate molding capabilities and allows the Group to offer tailor-made solutions thanks to ECC’s advanced inhouse developed technology.
ECC has been manufacturing specialty chocolate ingredients since 1993. Today, ECC produces a wide range of industrial specialty chocolate and decorations in multiple taste and color variations including batons, curls, chunks, leaves, and shavings. Its flexible production setup allows it to supply a wide variety of customers such as biscuit, bakery, dairy, ice-cream, confectionery, and food service industries. The company operates a chocolate factory and a warehouse in Malle, close to Antwerp, Belgium.
We have a long-standing relationship with ECC and strongly believe in the growth opportunities of highly customized industrial specialty chocolate ingredients. The acquisition will help us to further broaden our market position thanks to ECC’s unique know-how and its highly flexible manufacturing facility in Belgium.
Wim Debedts, Vice President Food Manufacturers Western Europe at Barry Callebaut
I am very proud of the specialty chocolate business we have built from scratch over the past close to 30 years. Joining the Barry Callebaut family will enable and accelerate ECC’s growth with access to new customers, new geographies via a broad sales network, helping to accentuate our unique proposition.
Eric Van Tichelen, Managing Director of ECC
The acquisition is expected to close in the coming months. The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the transaction.
About Barry Callebaut Group
With annual sales of about CHF 6.9 billion (EUR 6.4 billion / USD 7.1 billion) in fiscal year 2019/20, the Zurich-based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products – from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations and compounds. The Group runs more than 60 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse and dedicated global workforce of more than 12,000 people.
The Barry Callebaut Group serves the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The global brands catering to the specific needs of these Gourmet customers are Callebaut® and Cacao Barry®, Carma®and the decorations specialist Mona Lisa®.
The Barry Callebaut Group is committed to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. It supports the Cocoa Horizons Foundation in its goal to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.
