Barry Callebaut’s innovation strategy is based on three pillars: health & wellness, experience & indulgence and convenience.
1. Health & wellness – 100% natural
Trends observed among customers and end consumers are important drivers for innovation. A growing consumer awareness of health issues has encouraged Barry Callebaut to develop chocolate products that harness and preserve the naturally healthy components of the cocoa bean, offer an improved nutritional profile and are 100% natural. Barry Callebaut has recently launched a number of chocolates with added health benefits, including:
- Tooth-friendly chocolate – that prevents caries, which is certified by the “Toothfriendly” organization
- probiotic chocolate that helps maintain a healthy intestinal balance
- sugar-reduced chocolate that uses natural cocoa fibers as a sweetener instead of artificial sweeteners
- Acticoa™ chocolate & cocoa powder . Our Acticoa™ process retains the polyphenols and anti-oxidants that naturally occur in cocoa beans but which are normally lost in chocolate production.
- Aerated chocolate that has a light-weight texture with low calories per piece
- White chocolate with real fruit – no artificial color or flavoring
2. Indulgence & experience – premium treat
Dark chocolate has become a favorite with consumers, especially in the premium-oriented mature markets of Western Europe and North America, as consumers increasingly seek more intense chocolate taste experiences. Chocolate made from single specific cocoa-growing areas continues to enjoy rising popularity. Barry Callebaut offers its customers the most varied single-origin chocolate assortment of any chocolate producer in the world. In 2007, Barry Callebaut went a step further and introduced exclusive vintage plantation chocolates “Alto el Sol 2006” (Peru) and “Madirofolo 2007” (Madagascar). For top chocolatiers and confectioners, who increasingly look for unique flavor profiles, Barry Callebaut built a specially built laboratory, “Or Noir” in Meulan, near Paris in France, where top chocolatiers can create their own chocolate from a choice of 12 different single-origin cocoa liquors.
3. Convenience – easy does it!
Barry Callebaut has expanded its line of convenience products. These ready-to-use and ready-to-sell products help confectioners, bakers and chefs save time and money. In addition, together with Spain’s renowned patissier Paco Torreblanca, the company has launched new ready-to-use premium desserts, including a deep-frozen dessert line. Our innovation strategy is looking beyond chocolate and exploring new product areas competitively. The cocoa bean contains multiple ingredients that could well be developed and turned into consumer products for skin treatments, for example, also as food-processing agents for several unrelated food industries.
