Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, opened Taycan, the Group’s first cocoa bean buying, cleaning, drying and export facility in Ecuador. It is located in Duran, near the port of Guayaquil, offering direct access to the Pacific Ocean.

Taycan is Ecuador’s most state-of-the-art cocoa bean cleaning, drying and export facility and the USD 10 million investment underlines Barry Callebaut’s commitment to support the further development of the Ecuadorian cocoa sector. In addition to being the hub for the export of the Group’s Ecuadorian cocoa beans, Taycan also offers a home to all Barry Callebaut’s employees in Ecuador.

Ecuador has been climbing the ranks of cocoa producing countries and with an annual production of around 375,000 tonnes it is currently the third largest cocoa producer in the world, behind Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The expansion of the Group’s global footprint to Ecuador fits into Barry Callebaut’s strategy to continuously build its integrated supply chain. The new facility offers customers direct access to a wide variety of cocoa origins to provide the right mix of unique cocoa and chocolate recipes to better serve their needs.

Steven Retzlaff, president Global Cocoa at Barry Callebaut, said, "The opening of Taycan highlights the strategic importance of Ecuador as a cocoa producer and Barry Callebaut’s commitment to having a strong presence and a state-of-the-art facility to better serve the needs of our customers. We are pleased to offer our Barry Callebaut colleagues a new home in Ecuador and welcome the opportunity to contribute to Ecuador’s continued success in growing its sustainable cocoa production."

Angela Gubser, managing director Barry Callebaut Ecuador (until March 2022), said, "Taycan is a commitment which goes beyond the buying, cleaning, drying and exporting of cocoa beans. It represents further investment by Barry Callebaut in research and the sustainability of the cocoa sector, to the benefit of all stakeholders in the cocoa supply chain."