ZURICH, Switzerland – The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, reported an accelerating sales volume growth of +3.4% to 1,622,479 tonnes during the first nine months of fiscal year 2020/21 (ended May 31, 2021). In particular the chocolate business regained momentum in the third quarter (+21.2%), resulting in a good performance of +5.6% over the first nine months of fiscal year 2020/21, well ahead of the underlying global chocolate confectionery market (+1.2%3).
The volume growth was supported by all Regions (Americas +9.4%, Asia Pacific +9.0%, EMEA +2.9%) and with positive contribution from the Group’s key growth drivers Gourmet & Specialties (+13.1%), Emerging Markets (+12.5%, excluding Cocoa) and Outsourcing (+5.5%).
Sales volume in Global Cocoa also turned positive in the third quarter (+8.4%), reducing the volume decline after nine months to –4.3%. Sales revenue amounted to CHF 5,352.1 million, up +7.7% in local currencies (+2.1% in CHF).
Outlook – Confident to deliver on mid-term guidance
Looking ahead, CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: “As markets are gradually reopening, we expect further normalization of operations and growth to continue. A strong customer focus, a range of exciting innovations and a solid financial basis give us the confidence to deliver on our mid-term guidance.”
Barry Callebaut: Strategic milestones in the first nine months of fiscal year 2020/21
Expansion: In June 2021, Barry Callebaut signed an agreement to acquire Europe Chocolate Company (ECC), a privately-owned B2B manufacturer of chocolate specialties and decorations, located in Malle, Belgium. This strategic acquisition expands the Group’s value adding specialties capabilities, allowing Barry Callebaut to cater to the increasing demand from Food Manufacturers for highly customized chocolate specialties and decorations with Belgian chocolate quality.
In early July 2021, Barry Callebaut announced the start of a long-term outsourcing agreement with Atlantic Stark, a large chocolate confectionery manufacturer in South Eastern Europe. Atlantic Stark is supplied from Barry Callebaut’s new factory in Novi Sad, Serbia. Also in July 2021, Barry Callebaut announced the opening of its third production site in Russia, in the special economic zone of Kaliningrad. This factory will further strengthen Barry Callebaut’s presence in the world’s third-largest chocolate confectionery market4.
In Region Americas, Barry Callebaut signed in June 2021 a new significant outsourcing agreement to supply a large confectionery manufacturer with chocolate, starting in September 2021.
Innovation: Barry Callebaut’s global Gourmet brand Cacao Barry launched WholeFruit Evocao™, a unique chocolate for chefs and artisans made from 100% pure cacaofruit. WholeFruit chocolate contains exclusively sugars obtained from cacao pulp and 40% less sugar than most dark chocolates. WholeFruit Evocao™ is available for professional artisans in France, the UK, Italy, Canada, the US, Brazil and Japan. As of 2022, distribution will be progressively extended to other countries, with additional exciting flavor profiles to follow.
In June 2021, the Group’s pioneer cocoa brand Van Houten launched a powdered chocolate drink made from ruby chocolate for HoReCa customers in selected European markets. Like all Van Houten products, ruby chocolate drink powder is made with 100% sustainably sourced cocoa beans.
Sustainability: Barry Callebaut kicked off in June 2021 its first ESG roadshow and webinar. The events brought both the Group CFO and the Chief Sustainability Officer together with investors and ESG rating agencies to discuss Barry Callebaut’s actions in managing the key Environmental, Social and Governance risks in its chocolate supply chain.
At the Sustainable Food Summit in June 2021, Barry Callebaut’s innovative brand Cabosse Naturals won the sustainable ingredients category for upcycling the pulp and peel of the cacaofruit into a range of 100% pure cacaofruit ingredients.
Being carbon and forest positive is one of the key targets of Forever Chocolate, the Group’s plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025. In April 2021, Barry Callebaut, one of the leading signatories of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), a multi stakeholder platform to end deforestation caused by cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, published its second CFI Company Progress Report. The key achievements include the public disclosure of Barry Callebaut’s direct cocoa suppliers, continued progress on the location mapping of cocoa farms and the distribution of seedlings and shade trees.
Furthermore, in May 2021, Barry Callebaut released an industry-first High Carbon Stock (HCS) map that identifies forests with high conservation value and areas where deforestation would cause the highest carbon emissions. This highly automated and publicly available tool resulted from the company’s collaboration with Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich.
1 On average for the 3-year period 2020/21 to 2022/23: 5-7% volume growth and EBIT above volume growth in local currencies, barring any major unforeseeable events and based on the assumption of a gradual recovery from COVID-19.
2 Compared to sales volume for the first nine months 2018/19: 1,589,181 tonnes.
3 Source: Nielsen volume growth excluding e-commerce – 25 countries, September 2020 to April/May 2021, data subject to adjustment to match Barry Callebaut’s reporting period. Nielsen data only partially reflects the out-of-home and impulse consumption.
4 Source: Euromonitor, Chocolate confectionery markets 2020.
