When you unwrap your favourite chocolate bar from one of your favourite brands, do you know who actually makes the chocolate?
You’d be surprised to find out that it may not be the company whose name appears on the wrapper.
In fact, some of the world’s biggest confectionery brands like Nestle, Mondelez and Hershey rely on specialist manufacturers, or so-called white label producers, who’re often working quietly behind the scenes.
Our guest for today is one of the largest – Barry Callebaut. The company’s roots can be traced back to over a century ago in 1911, when Octaaf Callebaut, the grandson of a brewer in the small Belgian town of Wiez secretly worked on his first chocolate recipe.
His secrets of chocolate making would go on to be passed from one generation to another, who learned the craft from their predecessors who still make chocolate with all of their senses.
Fast forward to today, Barry Callebaut is a world leading provider of high quality chocolate experiences across the full spectrum of chocolate, cocoa, cacao coatings and non-cocoa alternatives, and is involved from the sourcing and processing of cocoa beans to the crafting of premium chocolates, fillings and decorations.
With over 60 production facilities worldwide, Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry from large-scale food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs and restaurants.
Barry Callebaut is a company that we want to zoom in on given how it is a gauge of global chocolate demand following a period of record cocoa prices. That’s particularly so with concerns surrounding a strong El Nino weather pattern in the coming months.
To this end, the firm had in July 2026 reported that third quarter sales volumes rose for the first time in two years, and also forecast a smaller full-year volume decline than earlier expected.
So what’s bolstering demand and how does the firm intend to mitigate headwinds from seasonal weather patterns? What are the longer term consumption trends that will support Barry Callebaut’s business looking ahead?
Speaking of the longer term, the firm also opened its Callebaut Global Innovation Center in Singapore to accelerate innovation and transformation across the chocolate and cocoa industry.
But what is the strategic role played by its operations in Singapore and how important will the new innovation center be in positioning the firm for future growth?
On Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Vamsi Mohan Thati, President of AMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) at Barry Callebaut Group.
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