Harald invests to build chocolate factory in China

The biggest Brazilian manufacturer of Harald, chocolate icing, will have production unit in China next year. The investment, to the tune of $ 16 million, is being divided into equal parts with Wilmar, agribusiness company based in Singapore.
Small businesses, the new factory is being built alongside a unit of vegetable oils of Wilmar in Shanghai. Start of production is planned for August 2014, as Ernesto Ary Neugebauer, President of Harald.
Neugebauer said that the cocoa almonds for the production of chocolates will be purchased in Indonesia and countries in Africa, while sugar will come from Thailand and Australia and New Zealand, milk powder.
Initially, the production must add 8 thousand tons of chocolate per year, but the volume could increase in a second moment. In China, consumption of chocolate is concentrated on young people, and the offer is still shy, even among large multinationals already operating in the country.
The products will be made by Harald on Chinese Unit (chocolate bars, chocolate powder and bulk chocolate), the example of what happens in Brazil, are directed to the segment of "food service"-food industries, hotels, bakeries and confectioneries.
In addition to the bureaucracy to the opening of a production unit in Chinese territory, the Brazilian company will face the challenge of acting in a market where per capita consumption is estimated at just 100 grams per inhabitant.
In Brazil, for example, the average reaches 2.5 pounds, according to the Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Chocolates, cocoa, peanuts, hard candies and derivatives (Abicab). "But nobody wants to stay out of China," says Neugebauer.
The plant in China will be the first overseas unit of Harald, whose exports represent 5% of its turnover-which should add $ 540 million in 2013, 15% in 2012. In the same comparison, the company's total production is expected to increase 8% to 72 thousand tons.
The origin of Harald dates back to the late 19th century. In 1891, the great-grandfather of Ernesto Neugebauer Ary opened, in Rio Grande do Sul, the first chocolate factory in the country. In 1981, the industry Neugebauer was sold, and the following year began the activities of Harald.
Three years ago, the company began working with special chocolates. To do this, came to import cocoa, but soon opted for national raw material. To ensure the necessary quality for a gourmet chocolate, Harald pays prizes ranging from 50% to 100% of the market value of the common almond.
The gourmet product, sold under the brand new Unique Melken, is made with cocoa from different regions of Bahia and Pará. "We can and should make a good Brazilian chocolate, we have provided a superpremium chocolate," says Neugebauer. In this way, the company also plans to increase purchases of almonds with certification of sustainable practices.