Cargill announced the opening of its House of Chocolate, a 6,200 sqm facility built alongside the company’s existing chocolate production plant in Belgium. The complex includes a chocolate experience center, a pilot plant with sensory expertise, and a creative workspace for the company’s European R&D team of chocolate engineers. The center aims to provide a “collaborative, end-to-end customer experience”, according to an announcement.

That idea-to-execution concept begins in the facility’s chocolate experience center. Market trends can be explored here, regarding health, sustainability, and sensory experiences, for new product concepts. The House of Chocolate also serves as the European R&D hub for Cargill’s chocolate, coating and filling activities and its 40 chocolate engineers.

Inge Demeyere, Managing Director for Cargill Chocolate Europe, said, “We wanted 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. 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.”

Cargill’s Cocoa & Chocolate business has operated in the country since 2002, and has invested in vegan, extra white, and sugar-reduced chocolate.

Photo: Pexels, Polina Tankilevitch