For the first time in two years, Barry Callebaut sells more chocolate

Barry Callebaut is gradually seeing signs of improvement in a challenging chocolate market: in the third quarter, the manufacturer managed to achieve volume growth for the first time in two years. For the full fiscal year, however, the company still expects a slight decline.

“First signs of stabilization”

While the global chocolate market declined by 4.4% in the third quarter, Barry Callebaut increased its sales by 5.7%. Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, however, volumes were still down by 2.8%. The company expects a gradual market recovery and anticipates a 1% decline in volume for the full fiscal year, which is better than the previously projected -2.5%.

“We are encouraged by the return to positive volume growth in the third quarter, which partly reflects early signs of stabilizing fundamentals and service levels in North America,” says CEO Hein Schumacher.

“At the same time, the chocolate market remains challenging and our improvement will be gradual. During the quarter, we took targeted steps to evolve our organizational set up and advance our Focus for Growth journey by strengthening regional empowerment while preserving global functional alignment. We are unwavering in our focus on further reinforcing our fundamentals to gain market share and drive sustained profitable growth.”