Chocolate and cocoa giant Barry Callebaut is launching a new factory in Serbia that will see an annual production capacity of 55,000 metric tons. 

The factory, which represents an investment of €55 million (US$63.5 million), will serve as the regional hub for south Eastern Europe, a rapidly growing chocolate market. 

The operations will allow Barry Callebaut to supply customers with a wide range of chocolate, compound and filling products. 

Expanding global presence
The launch of the new factory follows the installation of a third factory in the economic zone of the Kaliningrad region of the Baltic Sea in Russia this July. This factory became operational in August, allowing Barry Callebaut to produce liquid and solid compounds and fillings for chocolate.

Last month, Barry Callebaut extended its strategic supply partnership with The Hershey Company to enable long-term growth in North America.

This new state-of-the-art factory in Novi Sad, Serbia will serve as a regional hub for Southeastern Europe.Barry Callebaut supplies products to Hershey across the US, Canada and Mexico. These three countries account for a quarter of the global confectionery market.

Chocolate trends
In addition to expanding its global presence, Barry Callebaut has focused on staying on-trend. The Indulgence Playbook introduced by Barry Callebaut earlier this year highlighted four trends in the industry which they titled “Flavor Forward,” “Classic with a Twist,” “Authenticity,” and “Sustainability.”

Caramel Aura, a caramelized white chocolate, debuted in the “Flavor Forward” range. The “Classic with a Twist” highlighted the tension between craving comfort and familiarity. Brand storytelling and enhancing the brand’s sustainability credentials were the main focus of the latest trends.

The company also recently launched a scorecard to define and develop sustainable practices in coconut production and address “untackled challenges” across the sector, together with Nestlé and Proforest. As part of the Swiss chocolate giant’s Forever Chocolate plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm, the supplier aims to be carbon- and forest-positive by 2025. 

The initiative entails creating sustainable supply chains, which feature coconuts. Coconut is a critical ingredient in many of Barry Callebaut’s products, which is why the company is developing a coconut sustainability framework to bolster positive change.