Cargill opens House of Chocolate to inspire, co-create and innovate with customers

Cargill has opened a 6,200 square metre complex, alongside its existing chocolate production plant, to inspire, innovate and bring products at speed for customers to match demand in a rapidly changing dynamic chocolate market.

Cargill’s House of Chocolate, which includes a state-of-the-art chocolate experience centre, a pilot plant with sensory expertise, is also a creative workspace for the company’s European R&D team of chocolate engineers.

Inge Demeyere, managing director for Cargill Chocolate Europe, said the aim was always to create a place where customers can explore the entire world of chocolate under one roof, “enabling them to taste, feel, smell and see chocolate in every form”.

She added: “At the House of Chocolate, customers can collaborate with our experts and leverage our resources to create products inspired by the latest trends. It is a place designed to bring ideas to life and quickly move them  to the market.”

The “idea-to-execution concept” begins in the facility’s chocolate experience centre, where customers can explore market trends around health, sustainability, and sensory experiences, and brainstorm new product concepts.

Collaboration is central to the House of Chocolate experience, as it serves as the European R&D hub for Cargill’s chocolate, coating and filling activities and its 40 chocolate engineers. It’s also home to a pilot plant, giving brands the opportunity to rapidly prototype new products in small batches for greater efficiency and speed to market.

Belgium has been a focal point of Cargill’s global chocolate business for many years due to its unique position in the chocolate world globally and the strong reputation of Belgian chocolate. Cargill’s Cocoa & Chocolate business has operated in the country since 2002, and has extensively invested to meet customer demands for vegan, extra white, and sugar-reduced chocolate. It has also strengthened its presence in the gourmet space by acquiring businesses such as Leman Decorations and Smet.

Cargill is confident with 10 applications centres around the world, now including House of Chocolate, it can closely follow the latest trends and bring solutions to a global for years to come.

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