Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut appoints new CEO

Dive Brief:

• Barry Callebaut named Peter Feld as its new CEO, the chocolate maker said in a statement.
• Feld replaces Peter Boone, who is stepping down to move closer to home to spend more time with his family, according to a statement by Patrick De Maeseneire, the company’s chairman. Feld previously held the top role at Jacobs Holding, Barry Callebaut’s biggest shareholder.
• Boone joined Barry Callebaut as the chocolate ingredient giant’s chief innovation officer in 2012. He took over as CEO in September 2021 when Danone nabbed Antoine de Saint-Affrique to run the CPG food and beverage giant.

Dive Insight:

The turnover at the top continues at Barry Callebaut. Just over a year and a half after replacing its CEO, the Switzerland-based company has a new leader.

The announcement came on the same day that Barry Callebaut reduced the amount it is investing in the business and trimmed its sales guidance for the fiscal year more than analysts had been expecting. The company expects full-year volume growth to be “flat to modest” compared to its previous forecast of an increase of 5%. The chocolate company has been hit especially hard as consumers have cut back on spending due to soaring inflation.

With global challenges impacting its business, the change at CEO comes at a less-than-ideal time for Barry Callebaut. Still, the chocolate manufacturer expressed confidence that Feld’s experience in the food space, and decades of experience in leading positions at CPG companies, including Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson, will prove valuable in running Barry Callebaut.

“This unique combination makes him the ideal person to further develop Barry Callebaut successfully with a focus on sustainable growth,” said De Maeseneire.

Feld takes over a company that has spent several years of research delving into cocoa, determining flavor profiles and figuring out which fruits were optimal for which applications. It’s also joined other CPG companies in finding ways to curtail its global footprint. Barry Callebaut, which announced last week that it’s partnering with Nestlé on agroforestry projects for its cocoa supply chain, has committed to transition to 100% sustainably sourced ingredients by 2025.

The CEO change at Barry Callebaut is the latest in a series of corporate turnover in food and beverage companies across the globe. Unliever and Hain Celestial are just a few of the companies that have announced changes to their top post in recent months.