Barry Callebaut to sell French factory to Chocolaterie de Bourgogne

Transaction marks end of company’s consumer business

Barry Callebaut AG is taking the final step in its plans to focus solely on business-to-business chocolate.

The company has announced plans to sell is Dijon, France factor to "Chocolaterie de Bourgogne," which will be owned and managed by Philippe de Jarcy and his team.

Barry Callebaut had already sold Stollwerck, its European consumer products business, to the Belgian Baronie Group in 2011, and the Dijon factory was the company’s last consumer factory within the Group.

The sale is expected to result in a one-time loss of $70 million for Barry Callebaut for fiscal year 2011/12.

In an effort to support the new ownership, Barry Callebaut has agreed to let "Chocolaterie de Bourgogne" provide 12,000 tonnes of liquid chocolate per year to Barry Callebaut under a 5-year supply contract.

"We are very pleased with "Chocolaterie de Bourgogne" as a new owner for our business in Dijon,” says Juergen Steinemann, Barry Callebaut ceo. “Philippe de Jarcy and his team have a long-standing business experience in consumer chocolate products. With this transaction, we can now focus entirely on business-to-business."

Barry Callebaut is the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products.

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Crystal Lindell, Former editor-in-chief of Candy Industry Magazine. While here she has worked on Candy Industry Magazine, Food Engineering Magazine and Food Safety Strategies. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Illinois University. And her favorite breakfast is a cup of espresso and Twix bar.