Barry Callebaut has closed the acquisition of Russian B2B producer of chocolate compound coatings and fillings Inforum.

Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, said: “We are very happy to welcome the Inforum team to the Barry Callebaut family. Inforum’s heritage and local knowledge, combined with our innovation capabilities and international experience, will bring further excellence and innovation to the Russian market, the second largest chocolate confectionery market globally.”

The acquisition, in line with Callebaut’s “smart growth” strategy, will transform Barry Callebaut’s presence in the high-growth Russian market, the company says, noting that, by joining their complementary forces, Inforum and Barry Callebaut will be able to better serve all customers and segments of the market with high- quality chocolate and compounds as well as world class innovation, and to broaden the reach of their Gourmet & Speciality business.

Russia is a traditional chocolate market and has a consumption of 4.8 kg per capita according to Euromonitor. Growth rates in volume terms are significantly above the global chocolate confectionery market according to Nielsen.

The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the transaction.