Cargill has announced the opening of its House of Chocolate, which provides its customers with a collaborative, end-to-end customer experience. This 6200 square meter complex, which is built alongside the company’s existing chocolate production plant in Belgium, includes a state-of-the-art chocolate experience center, a unique pilot plant with sensory expertise and creative workspace for the company’s European R&D team of chocolate engineers.

“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,” says Inge Demeyere, managing director for Cargill Chocolate Europe. “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.”

In the facility’s chocolate experience center, customers can explore market trends around health, sustainability and sensory experiences, and brainstorm new product concepts. Collaboration is central to the House of Chocolate experience, as it serves as the European R&D hub for Cargill’s chocolate, coating and filling activities and its 40 chocolate engineers. It’s also home to a unique pilot plant, giving brands the opportunity to rapidly prototype new products in small batches for greater efficiency and speed to market.

With 10 applications centers around the world, now including House of Chocolate, Cargill can closely follow the latest trends and bring innovative global solutions for customers.