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- The Chocolate Academy will drives practical innovation and skill development, supported by research, AI, and pilot production labs.
- The GIC will host over 30 specialised roles, including AI engineers, food scientists, chefs, application technologists, and process technicians.
- The center will leverage Singapore’s infrastructure, talent pool, and proximity to regional markets.
Barry Callebaut has opened its Callebaut Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Singapore, located at Geneo in Singapore Science Park.
The GIC will house two Centers of Excellence (CoEs): an Artificial Intelligence (AI) CoE dedicated to chocolate and cocoa, and the company’s first Cacao Coatings (compound) CoE dedicated to coatings and fillings (also known as compounds).
Together, these hubs are expected to provide a collaborative environment where technical expertise and creative experimentation will intersect.
Across its Singapore facilities, the Callebaut GIC will host more than 30 specialised roles including AI engineers, food scientists, chefs, application technologists, process technicians, and customer experience specialists.
The Geneo site also houses the Callebaut Chocolate Academy™ Singapore alongside a regional R&D facility, whereby the facilities will look to translate consumer trends and customer briefs into innovative concepts.
The GIC is further supported by a pilot lab at the Senoko chocolate factory, which enables rapid prototyping, small-batch production, and process testing.
A statement by the company said: "Together, the five components of the GIC establish a comprehensive innovation ecosystem. In doing so, Barry Callebaut is redefining how chocolate experiences are imagined, designed, and delivered."
Barry Callebaut has operated in Singapore for nearly 30 years, with the Senoko factory — the region’s largest industrial chocolate facility — its AMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) regional headquarters, and now the Global Innovation Centre.
Vamsi Mohan Thati, President of AMEA, Barry Callebaut commented: "Singapore’s world-class infrastructure, availability of talent pool and proximity to dynamic markets in the region make it the ideal location to drive chocolate innovation at scale," adding that this Centre reinforces Singapore's role as a global hub for food innovation.
Amr Arafa, Chief Digital Officer, Barry Callebaut highlighted the transformative role of AI in the chocolate and cocoa industry, saying: "AI is redefining how we imagine, design, and deliver chocolate and cocoa experiences. By embedding AI into our innovation ecosystem, we are unlocking new possibilities from predictive flavor development to personalised customer solutions."
In her speech at the opening ceremony of the Callebaut Global Innovation Centre, Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State (MOS) for Education, shared how Singapore is in a unique position as a global trading and manufacturing hub to build a "strong food innovation and AI ecosystem to partner companies to capture growth amid an increasingly competitive and uncertain global environment."
"Singapore plays a key role in international cocoa trade, with approximately 15% of global cocoa trade flows conducted here.
"As Asia’s cocoa hub, we are home to major players across the entire cocoa and chocolate value chain, including Barry Callebaut, Delfi, ECOM Agroindustrial, Mondelez International, and Olam Group," she elaborated.
She also highlighted Singapore's role is a gateway to fast-growing Asian markets, combined with supportive infrastructure.
Sharing her views on building talent for the future, MOS Gan shared that as technological disruption continues to reshape industries, Singapore continues to build a strong talent pipeline in emerging, in-demand areas such as R&D and AI.
"Singapore is committed to remain an attractive location for companies to develop such talent as they deepen and expand their activities here."
She added that on the R&D front, Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 Plan which aims to develop high-quality talent including researchers, engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs, and programme managers would help nurture local talent whilst attracting top international talent.
"Barry Callebaut is contributing meaningfully to this effort through this new GIC. Over the next three to five years, it aims to grow the GIC into a much larger and more connected ecosystem."
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Lead image / Barry Callebaut
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