Barry Callebaut said at the Barclays 19th Annual Global Consumer Conference that its strategy is shifting from a broad transformation agenda to a Focus for Growth model centered on ten key countries and two main segments, gourmet and specialty ingredients. The company, described as the world's largest B2B chocolate and cocoa ingredients supplier, said the ten countries account for about two-thirds of its business.
Chief Executive Hein Schumacher, who joined in February 2024, and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Gaengler, who previously worked at Mondelez, Barry Callebaut's largest customer, outlined the plan. Schumacher described the company as an 'N is one' because of its integrated chain, adding that management will concentrate on priorities rather than define what to stop doing.
The company said the new fiscal year and personal objectives alignment began on September 1, 2026. The conference was held in Boston. Barry Callebaut's brands include Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Van Houten and ChoViva.
Cocoa prices remain a central variable. Current prices are around $4,500 per ton, with some customer-hedged positions described at 4,500 to 5,000 per ton. Barry Callebaut's original planning assumption was about 3,000 per ton, and management sees a medium-term price corridor of 3,000 to 5,000 per ton. Over the past three years, global cocoa prices rose by a little more than 50%, while global volumes fell by about 5%, or mid-single digits down.
The company's sales mix is split between classic chocolate confectionery, which represents 40% to 45% of sales, and chocolate used as an ingredient in bakery, ice cream, protein bars and granola, which accounts for 55% to 60%. Its top seven global customers represent 25% of chocolate volume.
Financially, net debt to EBITDA peaked at 6.5x in April 2024. Management targets leverage of about 3.0x by year-end and a longer-term range of 2.5x to 3.0x, despite cocoa prices running above the initial planning assumption. The dividend payout ratio is maintained at 30%.
Barry Callebaut expects medium-term volume growth of 2% to 4%. About 1% to 1.5% of that growth is expected to come from market-share gains linked to service recovery, with the remainder from category growth and product mix. The company said the third quarter marked its first volume growth in roughly two years.
Supply conditions remain tight. More than 500,000 tons of global cocoa surplus inventory sits above demand, marking the second consecutive year of surplus. Quality issues have affected operations at a major factory in Belgium a few years earlier, a site in Brantford, Canada, at the end of 2025, and a large site in Mexico.
The gourmet business is being restructured from a make-to-order model to a make-to-stock model, with a core list of about 200 SKUs under the Callebaut and Cacao Barry brands. Price indices for the higher-end tiers are about 140 to 145 for Cacao Barry, around 125 for the Callebaut Signature Collection, and around 125 for the Callebaut selection made in Belgium. Van Houten is positioned in local and regional tiers.
Management expects in-sourcing by large customers to bottom out in 2027, with outsourcing demand recovering after 2027. The gourmet business is expected to become a major profit driver in 2027 and 2028.
Growth initiatives include four innovation platforms: taste improvement through fermentation, health and wellness products including high-flavanol items performing well in Asia, cocoa replacement concepts such as ChoViva, and digital engagement. The company is also expanding a solutions model that bundles chocolate with nut specialties, fillings such as caramel, and inclusions such as soft-baked items for ice cream and bakery.
Barry Callebaut said it is working with all 10 of the world's largest ice cream producers, including Ben & Jerry's and Magnum, and with retail partners such as Marks & Spencer in the U.K. for private-label biscuits and chocolate layers. It is also expanding cocoa sourcing beyond West Africa into Brazil and Ecuador, including seedling nurseries in Ecuador.
