The CEMOI Group, First French Chocolatier, have announced the acquisition of the Chris Candies company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Founded in 1940 by George Christ, Chris Candies, Inc. was owned to date by private investors.  Recognized as the specialist in molded chocolate, Chris Candies manufactures an offering of year-round and seasonal chocolates for premium markets. Aligned with trends of healthy eating, Chris Candies is specialized in organic, fair-trade and low-sugar chocolates. To meet market standards, Chris Candies has many key certifications, including SQF 2000 Level 3, Kosher (OU-D), and Organic (CCOF). For certain products, the production site is also Gluten Free, certified GMO free, Fairtrade, and Vegan.

Patrick Poirrier (pictured), CEO of CEMOI said during an interview in The World of Food Ingredients: “Today we have some growth opportunities. This company came about through the fusion of others over recent years. So of course we will look at opportunities, but mainly focused at dark chocolate, quality and emerging markets, wher we can also increase our market share. We are a 100% family owned company, so of course we think this model is quite stable and want to develop it.”

“Chocolate is a nice market. You don’t need chocolate to live, but ultimately you do need pleasure to live: chocolate is pleasure. People are looking to eat less quantity, but better quality and dark chocolate is really something that we are working on, which is part of our French DNA: high cocoa content and taste. We want to express this taste all around the world. Europe is our home market, but we want to also expand in the world in North America and Asia,” he explains.

The full interview can be found in the March edition of The World of Food Ingredients.

In addition to manufacturing products for other chocolate brands, Chris Candies supplies    numerous supermarket chains, clubs, groceries and specialty stores channels. It has a work force of 80 employees. Recent investments were made to improve efficiencies in molding and packaging of its chocolates.

This acquisition enables CEMOI, the European leader in chocolate, to reinforce its position in North America on its historical know-how: private label. Indeed, purchased in 1962 by the Poirrier family, CEMOI established itself as the pioneer on this market. Now recognized in this field, the Group managed to develop its facilities through external acquisitions. It has a wide range of chocolates not only under private labels, but also under its own brand, targeting the core and premium market segments.

The positioning of Chris Candies is in line with the strategy of the French Group. Indeed, CEMOI   perpetuated chocolate traditions for over 200 years and has a renowned know-how in cocoa-rich chocolates. It purchases 3% of the world cocoa crop and has its own transformation site in Western Africa in order to promote the terroir and to be closer to the farmers. This allows today the CEMOI Group to offer chocolates with a unique taste.
 
The Group currently distributes its products in over 50 countries. Its turnover reaches $870m, 50% of which is generated outside of France. Its Northern American branch, CEMOI Inc, achieved in 2016 a turnover of 12M$. On this market, the Group has several strategic activities: the CEMOI brand products for the consumers and the chefs, and private label products.