The Barry Callebaut AG, Zürich, has signed an agreement to acquire Europe Chocolate Company (ECC), a Belgian privately-owned B2B manufacturer of chocolate specialties and decorations. The strategic acquisition expands Barry Callebaut Group’s value adding specialties capabilities, allowing the company to cater to the increasing demand of food manufacturers for highly customized specialty chocolate and decorations. The integration of ECC expands Barry Callebaut’s specialized chocolate moulding capabilities and allows the group to offer tailor-made solutions thanks to ECC’s advanced in-house developed technology.

ECC has been manufacturing specialty chocolate ingredients since 1993. The company operates a chocolate factory and a warehouse in Malle, close to Antwerp. Today, it produces a wide range of industrial specialty chocolate and decorations in multiple taste and colour variations including batons, curls, chunks, leaves and shavings. Its flexible production setup allows it to supply a wide variety of customers such as biscuit, bakery, dairy, ice-cream, confectionery and food service industries. “The acquisition will help us to further broaden our market position thanks to ECC’s unique know-how and its highly flexible manufacturing facility in Belgium,” says Wim Debedts, Vice President Food Manufacturers Western Europe at Barry Callebaut.