The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, announced that it has successfully closed the acquisition of Australia-based GKC Foods, a producer of chocolate, coatings, and fillings, that serves many consumer chocolate brands in Australia and New Zealand. The integration will start as of now.
Barry Callebaut is one of the largest chocolate and cocoa manufacturers in the Asia Pacific. Employing more than 1,800 employees in the region, the company already operates ten chocolate and cocoa factories in Asia, namely in China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. In the last 12 months, the company has expanded its sales operations in Indonesia and the Philippines and its existing sales offices in India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It recently announced the groundbreaking of a new chocolate factory in India that is expected to be ready in late-2020.
Closing of transaction
“We are happy to welcome the team of GKC Foods to the Barry Callebaut family. The heritage and local knowledge GKC Foods has built since the 1980s, combined with the expertise, the state of the art manufacturing processes and the capabilities of an undisputed leader in chocolate and cocoa innovation will bring further excellence to the Australia and New Zealand markets. We strongly believe in the growth opportunities in these still largely captive markets,” says Ben De Schryver, president of Barry Callebaut in Asia Pacific.
This strategic acquisition establishes Barry Callebaut’s direct presence and manufacturing capacity in the growing Australian market. The acquisition of GKC Foods empowers the Group to expand its position in the industrial chocolate market and to leverage its value-adding gourmet and specialties business in Australia and New Zealand.
Australia and New Zealand have an average chocolate consumption of approximately 5 kilograms per capita, the highest per-capita chocolate consumption in Asia Pacific, according to Euromonitor. In Australia, demand for chocolate has been on the rise – the chocolate confectionery market in the country grew well above the global market, according to Nielsen.
The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the transaction.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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