Barry Callebaut to invest $70 million at Canada factory

ZURICH Reuters -- Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut is investing $70 million at one of its factories in Canada, according to the company's latest move to expand production in North America.

The world's biggest chocolate maker plans to add more liquid chocolate and mold production lines at its site in Chatham, Ontario, and also improve the production of dairy-free chocolate compounds, which are used by food makers in desserts, ice cream and confectionery.

Balaji Padmanabhan, vice president of Operations and Supply Chain, Americas, said that this new capacity will satisfy growing demand from both food manufacturers and gourmet customers for our compound solutions in this dynamic consumer market.

In the last financial year, Barry Callebaut's sales in the Americas increased by 6.4%, outpacing the overall market, which increased by 0.7%.

Earlier this year, Barry Callebaut said it was spending $104 million to build a new factory in Brantford, Ontario, to produce sugar-free chocolate and other speciality products.