Barry Callebaut and Garudafood to bring sustainable Van Houten Professional to Indonesia

11 Feb 2021 --- Chocolate giant Barry Callebaut will partner with PT Sinarniaga Sejahtera (SNS) as its distributor for Van Houten Professional 100 percent sustainably sourced compound chocolate products in Indonesia. 

SNS is a subsidiary of PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk (Garudafood), one of the largest food and beverage companies in Indonesia.

The partnership will bring the Van Houten Professional range of sustainable compound chocolate via the Cocoa Horizons Foundation to professional users of chocolate and compound in the foodservice market in Indonesia.

This includes artisan and chain bakeries, cafes, restaurants, cash-and-carries and the fast-growing home baking segment. 

Van Houten Professional is Barry Callebaut’s European heritage brand that has already established a leadership presence in Asia.“Partnering with Garudafood will once again allow us to team up with a leader in one of the most vibrant economies in Asia Pacific,” says Shuo-yen Choo, managing director chocolate Indonesia and vice president for food manufacturing in Southeast Asia for Barry Callebaut. 

“[This will allow us to] gain a strategic foothold in Indonesia which continues to offer growth even in these unprecedented times.” 

Extending growth into foodservice
With Garudafood’s sales and distribution capabilities to various channels and Barry Callebaut’s market leadership with well-known chocolate brands for the business-to-business category, the two companies are committed to further growth in the compound chocolate market in Indonesia.

“By leveraging our foodservice channel, we are confident to be a notable player in the growing consumption of chocolate products in Indonesia,” says Paulus Tedjosutikno, director of Garudafood. 

The implementation of this agreement will start immediately, and these products will be commercially available in the market next month.

Further terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Through the Cocoa Horizons program, the company says it will give back to the cocoa farmers in Indonesia, positively impacting livelihoods in cocoa farming communities in Sulawesi.Extended strategic partnership
This agreement is an extension of the strategic relationship between Barry Callebaut and Garudafood, which was first established in 2015. 

In 2018, the supply partnership was expanded, with an additional 7,000 tons of compound chocolate and a US$2.8 million investment to build a “plant in the plant” within GarudaFood’s premise in Rancaekek, Indonesia.

The partnership currently focuses on an industrial supply of compound chocolate through two chocolate factories in Indonesia located in Gresik, East Java and Rancaekek, West Java.

Premium cocoa on the horizon
Van Houten Professional is Barry Callebaut’s European heritage brand that has established a leadership presence in Asia. 

The full range of chocolate and compound products promises to be a “game-changer” and has been adapted to the technical needs of the Asian chocolatier.

In addition, Van Houten Professional will be the first mass-market brand in Indonesia to offer sustainably sourced cocoa under the Cocoa Horizons, says Shuo-yen Choo. 

Through the Cocoa Horizons program, the company says it will give back to the cocoa farmers in Indonesia, positively impacting livelihoods in cocoa farming communities in Sulawesi.

“We look forward to generating a new level of expertise and creativity among the artisans but more importantly, we hope to move the needle on sustainability in Indonesia,” concludes Shuo-yen Choo. 

Barry Callebaut expands footprint
Last June, Barry Callebaut added a fourth chocolate production line to its Singapore facility to boost the volume of chocolate for the Asia Pacific market. 

In other moves, Barry Callebaut broke ground on the construction of a new cocoa facility in Ecuador last October, where it has been sourcing cocoa since 1996. 

Edited by Missy Green