Barry Callebaut Group sales volume decreased by -2.8% to 1,557,239 tonnes for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2025/26 (ended on May 31, 2026). Sales volume growth turned positive in the third quarter (+5.7%), reflecting elevated demand in Global Cocoa following the market correction earlier in the year, continued momentum in AMEA and progress in restoring service levels in North America.
Global Chocolate saw a -2.3% volume decrease in an overall declining chocolate confectionery market according to Nielsen (-5.6% in first nine months, -4.4% in Q3)4. Volume development for Food Manufacturers (-2.3%) was impacted by challenging market demand dynamics and supply disruption in North America in the first half, with a return to growth in the third quarter. Volumes in Gourmet also decreased for the nine months (-2.8%) as the declining cocoa bean price environment resulted in intense competitive dynamics.
Looking at regional performance within Global Chocolate, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA, +10.3%) was the strongest contributor to volume performance. Market share gains in China, continued momentum in India and customer wins in Australia were partly offset by market pressure in Japan and South Korea. Volumes declined slightly in Central and Eastern Europe (-0.7%) as growth for regional and local Food Manufacturers was offset by a challenging environment for large Global Accounts. Latin America saw slightly negative volume growth (-1.2%), mainly due to phasing effects in the third quarter. Volume development in Western Europe (-2.5%) remained impacted by challenging market dynamics, with a return to slightly positive growth in the third quarter. North America reported a volume decrease of -7.6% as a result of network supply disruption and challenging market dynamics, with volumes turning positive in the third quarter as the business continues to rebuild service levels and respond to growing customer contracts and orders.
Global Cocoa saw a -4.9% decrease in sales volume, with growth turning strongly positive in the third quarter (+18.0%). The recent acceleration reflects elevated demand following the cocoa market correction earlier in the year, combined with a low base of comparison. Cocoa powder saw strong momentum, particularly in Latin America and Asia, with some customer restocking, while Global Cocoa also benefited from one-off cocoa butter opportunities in the third quarter.
Sales revenue amounted to CHF 9,557.1 million, a decrease of -9.5% in local currencies (-12.7% in CHF) reflecting lower volume and negative cocoa bean-linked pricing. In the third quarter, sales revenue decreased by -21.0% in local currencies (-23.4% in CHF), with pricing declining significantly as a result of lower cocoa bean prices.
4 Source: Nielsen volume growth excluding e-commerce – 26 countries, September 2025 - April/May 2026. Data subject to adjustment to match Barry Callebaut's reporting period. Nielsen data only partially reflects the out-of-home and impulse consumption.