Cargill Expands Gourmet Chocolate Production

Cargill has invested EUR3.5m in its site in Kalmthout (Belgium) to increase its capabilities for producing gourmet chocolate. The investment adds a fifth gourmet production line and new chocolate tanks within the existing facility, providing greater flexibility in production as well as adding 12 new jobs locally.

“This investment strengthens the extended gourmet chocolate offerings that we acquired with Cargill’s purchase of Smet in 2019,” says Inge Demeyere, managing director of Cargill’s chocolate activities in Europe. “With the complementary offering of Veliche™ gourmet couvertures and Smet decorations, we are able to provide additional choice and meet increased demand in the gourmet segment, including our industrial customers.”

The investment will support the company’s R&D and help them support additional customers. The new chocolate tanks will also allow for improved dedicated storage and dedicated piping to provide full flexibility to customer requirements.

“With Smet, a leading Belgium-based supplier of chocolate and sweets decoration, we have worked hard to uphold our customer’s trust, ensuring deep customer intimacy and high speed-to-market with new decoration technology, enhanced production capabilities and a wide-ranging product portfolio,” Demeyere concludes.

The expansion is set to be completed by the end of 2020.