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Cargill House of Chocolate in Mouscron

House of Chocolate

FROM BEAN TO BAR

​New “House of Chocolate” to support all-in-one product development

Cargill will open its state-of-the-art House of Chocolate in Mouscron, Belgium in 2021/22, adjacent to our main chocolate production facility. It will be the perfect home for inimitable chocolate experiences with our Cargill, Veliche Gourmet™, Smet and Vanova® brands. The US$21 million center is an integral part of our long-term “Journey to Joy 2022” vision to become the trusted solution provider for chocolate. It will serve our broad customer portfolio, including our gourmet chocolate network and industrial partners.

Three functions under one roof

The House of Chocolate will comprise an inspirational high-tech chocolate experience center, an adjacent pilot plant, a sensory lab and additional creative workspace for the European technical service team:

  • Chocolate Experience Center: Bundles our cocoa & chocolate expertise to inspire, innovate and educate customers and partners. The platform for co-creation to improve customer’ product decisions, and increase speed to market for both gourmet and large-scale applications.
  • Pilot Plant: Replicates real production conditions on a small scale and easily produce samples for testing and trial before going into large-scale manufacturing. Makes batch manufacturing possible for anything from 5kg to 1 ton cycles.
  • Sensory Lab: Home to Cargill’s largest European cocoa and chocolate, world class sensory center. Outfitted with state-of-the-art high-tech equipment, it allows for a wide range of sensory testing on anything from chocolate, coatings and fillings, to ice cream or biscuits. 

 

Cargill’s Recent Mouscron Milestones

2015

€35 million investment doubles production capacity in Mouscron for additional production lines, storage tanks and warehouse space and continued improvements in Antwerp-city plant.

2018

€12 million investment in a new liquid dark chocolate production line in Mouscron. 

2019

€4 million investment in sugar reduction capabilities in Mouscron. Allows for the production of sugar-reduced recipes for liquid and solid, dark and milk chocolate.

2019

Acquisition of Smet further strengthens the Belgian claim of our products and enhances the focus on gourmet business.

2020

Cargill invests €3.5 million in its Kalmthout site (Belgium) to increase gourmet chocolate production capabilities. 

2021 / 22

The House of Chocolate pilot center will open in Fall 2021. The chocolate experience center and sensory lab will be operational in January 2022.

The House of Chocolate in a nutshell

  1. All-in-one experience and development process; from inspiration through to innovation and training, and finally production.
  2. Leverages the co-creation model with an end-to-end process on a unified platform, to deliver high efficiency and greater speed to market.
  3. Bean-to-bar experience that delivers expertise at every stage; from the origination of cocoa to branded gourmet chocolate.
  4. Built alongside our production site in Mouscron with the flexibility to meet current and future market needs, including sugar reduced, hazelnut, organic, and much more.
  5. Clear end-to-end concept from the latest creations from our gourmet chefs, to manufacturing solutions in accordance with consumer trends.
  6. The kitchens will accommodate host trials and tastings, so our customers and partners can explore all possibilities under the guidance of our chefs and expert teams. 
  7. Small quantity samples can be produced at the adjacent pilot plant, replicating the manufacturing conditions of industrial lines, before going into large scale production.
  8. Customers can interact and co-create alongside our chocolate engineers in an optimal setting to explore the multiple dimensions of cocoa and chocolate manufacturing.
  9. Close proximity to our Vilvoorde Global Innovation Center for food ingredients, will allow customers to take advantage of our expertise across applications.
  10. Will incorporate cutting-edge technology to reduce the site’s ecological footprint, including the use of geothermal energy to significantly reduce energy consumption.

The new 7,000 square meter House of Chocolate complex will enable customers to experience the convenience of an all-in-one development process at a single location.

Staffed by a team of more than 40 chocolate engineers, the House of Chocolate will serve as the hub for all of Cargill’s chocolate, coating and filling activities.

Construction has already begun, with the pilot center scheduled to open in Fall 2021. The chocolate experience center and sensory lab will be operational in January 2022.

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