In a move to facilitate better product development and enhance the customer collaboration experience, Cargill unveils its plans for a “House of Chocolate” complex at its Mouscron, Belgium site. The complex, which will be built alongside the company‘s existing chocolate production plant, will include a state-of-the-art chocolate experience center, a unique pilot plant, a sensory lab and creative workspace for the company‘s European R&D team of chocolate engineers. The new 700 square metre complex will enable customers to experience the convenience of an all-in-one development process, from inspiration, innovation and training, through pilot lab testing, sensory testing and finally, culminating in commercial-scale production – at a single location.

“Innovation stands at the forefront of our House of Chocolate, as we bring together all our expertise and resources,” said Harold Poelma, President of Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate. “It will allow us to collaborate with customers at every step of their product development journey, transforming ideas into reality using a streamlined approach to facilitate innovation and deliver greater efficiency and speed to market”. The one-of-a-kind House of Chocolate brings three critical functions under one roof. At the company‘s chocolate experience center, customers can gain inspiration from Cargill‘s gourmet chocolate chefs, brainstorm new product concepts and elevate their chocolate knowledge through in-depth training sessions. The on-site pilot plant allows product developers to test their concepts through small-scale production runs that replicate the manufacturing conditions of industrial lines, while the in-house sensory lab ensures those products
deliver on consumers’ expectations.