SINGAPORE: Chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has opened its first global innovation centre outside of Europe in Singapore, tapping artificial intelligence to drive growth in Asia.
The Zurich-headquartered company said its new facility at the Singapore Science Park will also boost research and development efforts and support the creation of products tailored for fast-growing Asian markets.
It brings together the world’s first AI centre dedicated to chocolate and cocoa, alongside a cacao coatings centre focused on product development, according to a media release on Tuesday (Feb 10).
The Callebaut Global Innovation Center at the Singapore Science Park. (Photo: Barry Callebaut)
The site also houses the Callebaut Chocolate Academy Singapore and a regional R&D facility, allowing the company to translate consumer trends and customer briefs into new concepts before testing them at a new pilot lab at its Senoko factory.
“Singapore is a hub for innovation and (an) artificial intelligence ecosystem,” said Mr Vamsi Mohan Thati, the company’s president for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
“What we hope to do is to bring customers to this innovation centre, co-create product concepts and new ideas with them, and then take them to commercial scale using the pilot lab,” he added.
Barry Callebaut is a major player in the chocolate and cocoa industry, producing ingredients used in a range of products such as ice creams, fillings and coatings.
The company has had a presence in Singapore since 1997, when it established its Senoko plant – now one of the region’s largest industrial chocolate manufacturing facilities.
What began with 60 employees has grown to more than 300 staff across commercial operations, manufacturing and R&D.
The new centre will host more than 30 specialised roles, including engineers, food scientists and chefs, with plans to double the team size over the next three to five years.
Among its priorities is developing products suited for Asia’s climate and consumer preferences – including chocolate that melts less easily in tropical heat.
Mr Thati said the team in Singapore has also developed a chocolate concept with higher levels of flavanol – naturally occurring compounds in cocoa linked to antioxidant properties – and that the product is currently being test-launched in China.
The centre allows the company to support large and rapidly expanding markets such as China, India and Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asian region, Mr Thati said.
Beyond new chocolate formulations, it will focus on helping customers manage pricing pressures.
“They both want products with innovation, but they also want us to innovate on current products to keep the cost under control,” Mr Thati noted.
“Pricing is important in this region, and price points need to be maintained by our customers, so we work with them to make sure that we are innovating, not just on product, but also on the cost side.”
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang (right) engaging with the team behind Barry Callebaut’s first global artificial intelligence centre dedicated to chocolate and cocoa. (Photo: Barry Callebaut)
The company says it plans to expand the facility into a larger, more connected ecosystem – one aimed at creating more than just chocolate.
Speaking at the facility’s opening ceremony on Tuesday, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang said Singapore has built a strong food innovation and AI ecosystem to support companies amid intensifying competition and shifting consumer tastes.
The country plays a key role in the global cocoa market, handling around 15 per cent of worldwide trade flows, she noted.
It is also home to more than 200 agri-food tech startups working on areas including alternative foods, functional ingredients and precision agriculture.
As technological disruption reshapes industries, Singapore continues to strengthen its talent pipeline in emerging and in-demand areas such as R&D and AI, Ms Gan added.
Singapore aims to triple its pool of AI practitioners to 15,000 in the coming years.
Company-led efforts, such as Barry Callebaut’s innovation centre, complement this push to deepen skills in such emerging areas, she said.
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The Zurich-headquartered company said its new facility at the Singapore Science Park will also boost research and development efforts and support the creation of products tailored for fast-growing Asian markets.
It brings together the world’s first AI centre dedicated to chocolate and cocoa, alongside a cacao coatings centre focused on product development, according to a media release on Tuesday (Feb 10).
The Callebaut Global Innovation Center at the Singapore Science Park. (Photo: Barry Callebaut)
The site also houses the Callebaut Chocolate Academy Singapore and a regional R&D facility, allowing the company to translate consumer trends and customer briefs into new concepts before testing them at a new pilot lab at its Senoko factory.
“Singapore is a hub for innovation and (an) artificial intelligence ecosystem,” said Mr Vamsi Mohan Thati, the company’s president for Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
“What we hope to do is to bring customers to this innovation centre, co-create product concepts and new ideas with them, and then take them to commercial scale using the pilot lab,” he added.
INNOVATING FOR TROPICAL CLIMATES
Barry Callebaut is a major player in the chocolate and cocoa industry, producing ingredients used in a range of products such as ice creams, fillings and coatings.
The company has had a presence in Singapore since 1997, when it established its Senoko plant – now one of the region’s largest industrial chocolate manufacturing facilities.
What began with 60 employees has grown to more than 300 staff across commercial operations, manufacturing and R&D.
The new centre will host more than 30 specialised roles, including engineers, food scientists and chefs, with plans to double the team size over the next three to five years.
Among its priorities is developing products suited for Asia’s climate and consumer preferences – including chocolate that melts less easily in tropical heat.
Mr Thati said the team in Singapore has also developed a chocolate concept with higher levels of flavanol – naturally occurring compounds in cocoa linked to antioxidant properties – and that the product is currently being test-launched in China.
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The centre allows the company to support large and rapidly expanding markets such as China, India and Indonesia and the wider Southeast Asian region, Mr Thati said.
Beyond new chocolate formulations, it will focus on helping customers manage pricing pressures.
“They both want products with innovation, but they also want us to innovate on current products to keep the cost under control,” Mr Thati noted.
“Pricing is important in this region, and price points need to be maintained by our customers, so we work with them to make sure that we are innovating, not just on product, but also on the cost side.”
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang (right) engaging with the team behind Barry Callebaut’s first global artificial intelligence centre dedicated to chocolate and cocoa. (Photo: Barry Callebaut)
BUILDING TALENT PIPELINE
The company says it plans to expand the facility into a larger, more connected ecosystem – one aimed at creating more than just chocolate.
Speaking at the facility’s opening ceremony on Tuesday, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang said Singapore has built a strong food innovation and AI ecosystem to support companies amid intensifying competition and shifting consumer tastes.
The country plays a key role in the global cocoa market, handling around 15 per cent of worldwide trade flows, she noted.
It is also home to more than 200 agri-food tech startups working on areas including alternative foods, functional ingredients and precision agriculture.
As technological disruption reshapes industries, Singapore continues to strengthen its talent pipeline in emerging and in-demand areas such as R&D and AI, Ms Gan added.
Singapore aims to triple its pool of AI practitioners to 15,000 in the coming years.
Company-led efforts, such as Barry Callebaut’s innovation centre, complement this push to deepen skills in such emerging areas, she said.
Related:
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