• Barry Callebaut opens Taycan, the Group’s first cocoa bean export facility in Ecuador, highlighting Ecuador’s status as the world’s third largest cocoa producer
• Investment fits the Group’s strategy to offer access to a wide variety of cocoa origins
• Taycan to offer a home to all Group’s employees in Ecuador

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, opened today Taycan, the Group’s first cocoa bean buying, cleaning, drying and export facility in Ecuador. It is located in Duran, near the port of Guayaquil, offering direct access to the Pacific Ocean.

Taycan is Ecuador’s most state-of-the-art cocoa bean cleaning, drying and export facility and the USD 10 million investment underlines Barry Callebaut’s commitment to support the further development of the Ecuadorian cocoa sector. In addition to being the hub for the export of the Group’s Ecuadorian cocoa beans, Taycan also offers a home to all Barry Callebaut’s employees in Ecuador.

Ecuador has been climbing the ranks of cocoa producing countries and with an annual production of around 375,000 tonnes it is currently the third largest cocoa producer in the world, behind Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The expansion of the Group’s global footprint to Ecuador fits into Barry Callebaut’s strategy to continuously build its integrated supply chain. The new facility offers customers direct access to a wide variety of cocoa origins to provide the right mix of unique cocoa and chocolate recipes to better serve their needs.

About Barry Callebaut Group:

With annual sales of about CHF 7.2 billion (EUR 6.6 billion / USD 7.9 billion) in fiscal year 2020/21, the Zurich- based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products – from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations and compounds. The Group runs more than 60 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse and dedicated global workforce of more than 13,000 people.

The Barry Callebaut Group serves the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The global brands catering to the specific needs of these Gourmet customers are Callebaut^® and Cacao Barry^®, Carma^® and the decorations specialist Mona Lisa^®.

The Barry Callebaut Group is committed to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. It supports the Cocoa Horizons Foundation in its goal to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.