Callebaut

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Callebaut is a Belgian company and a major producer of chocolate for consumers and for professional chocolatiers. As of 1996 it is a part of the Swiss company Barry Callebaut.

1 History
2 Products
3 Awards
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The company was founded by Eugenius Callebaut as a brewery in Wieze, Belgium, in 1850, and began producing chocolate bars in 1911 and chocolate couverture in 1925. ^[1]

In 1996, Callebaut merged with rival chocolatier Cacao Barry to form a new company, formally known as Barry Callebaut, with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, although Callebaut retained its offices in Belgium. In 2002, the combined firm bought the famed U.S. confectioner Brach's. Barry Callebaut is now the second-largest chocolate producer in the world.

One of Eugenius Callebaut's great-great-grandsons, Bernard Callebaut, opened his own chocolate company in Calgary, Alberta. This firm (called Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut) is not affiliated with Barry Callebaut.

As of June 2002, the CEO of Barry Callebaut company is the Belgian Patrick De Maeseneire. In 2007, the company has 35 factories located in 17 countries, producing an annual 530,000 tons of chocolate, out of which 220,000 tons is produced in the Belgian Wieze factory. The company has 9500 employees worldwide.

[edit] Products

The company's primary products are baking chocolate and cocoa powder sold to consumers and professional bakers. In 2005, the company introduced a "healthy" chocolate product called Acticoa, which contains higher levels of polyphenols, compounds that may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of certain kinds of cancer. Acticoa chocolate is available in Germany under the brand Sarotti and in Belgium under the brand Jacques. ^[2]

[edit] Awards

In November of 2005, America's Test Kitchen named Callebaut's cocoa powder its top brand for baking. It had previously named Callebaut's baking chocolate its "best value" in taste tests.
In April 2007, Barry Callebaut CEO De Maeseneire received the Vlerick Award from the Alumni of the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
In the January & February 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated magazine, Callebaut's Intense Dark Chocolate, L-60-40NV topped the recommended list in a tasting of dark chocolate.^[3]