From Bean to Bar: The Chocolate Journey at Barry Callebaut

Igor Annibal, Head of Sales - Food Service at Barry Callebaut

Any external factor or imbalance, such as the economy, politics, or even the force of nature, has a direct impact on this market, which is sensitive to consumer behavior and it is necessary to bring with it a change in behavior in the market to support all factors.

Even with growth in the first quarter of 2023, an increase in the average ticket, and scenarios that are getting closer to the growth we expected in 2019 in Brazil, the market needs to be confident and ahead of the consumer to support growth above inflation and uncertainties policies, and interest rates above the historical and world base, in the case of Brazil.

In our reality, we have bet and created several different initiatives that bring differentiations in the Food Service market, we understand that in the midst of so much difficulty, a true partnership, advisory and technical support, information technology and sellout tools and product innovation are our pillars of advancement with our customers.

Trying to approach each theme a little and exemplify a little more, we understand that the true partnership is the transparency between two companies (b2b) with the same purpose of growth and profit, we need to be in tune to bring together the same message and purpose to the operators and final consumers. Today we have great partners, whom we value specialization, level of service, and the sale as something consultative, not just the purchase and sale relationship.

“We have several impact reduction programs throughout the Cocoa and Chocolate chain, from planting, nurseries, and seed collection, to finished products and sustainable final solutions for the market.”

Today we have a dedicated team for information, the use of which is crucial for us to be more efficient, with fewer resources and more agility, both commercially and in positioning the market and products by different channels and segments. For a long time, we've been analyzing only our internal results, and it's ok! But this constant mindset change of looking at the commercial sellout in a B2B sale is the right way to deliver effective results and direct the best tools and products to our consumers.

Food Service establishments have been looking for many products that, in addition to bringing cost reduction in terms of yield or price, are still concerned with quality and safety in brands, services in the supply, products that bring indulgence, differentiation from competitors, innovation and concern for sustainability, and what impact they have within their value chain. 

Today, we have several impact reduction programs throughout the Cocoa and Chocolate chain, from planting, nurseries, and seed collection, to finished products and sustainable final solutions for the market.

We in the industry have this great responsibility, but also the strength to accelerate the growth that the market needs to continue evolving, with that we have invested a lot in technical support to bring this information and solutions. In addition to having a structure of diversified technicians for each type of channel and segment, we have the Chocolate Academy, which today we have in more than 23 countries, which, in addition to being a professionalizing space, is our sales support for innovation days, commercial training, applicability solutions, a real indirect sales channel.

And we say here that all the effort we are involved in will be in vain if we do not use all the information that we have seen, captured, and managed in our favor and that of the market, and it is these visions that we make most of our decisions, measure and manage to contribute to a much more assertive sale, and deliver a much more dedicated experience to our customers.

All these channels of information that bring us all this market intelligence, tell us that we are on the right path within the Food Service, and Barry Callebaut has brought this more innovative look when we talk about products and solutions for this market and the responsibility we have across the chain.