Barry Callebaut Group, a manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa products, has opened its new chocolate factory in Santiago de Chile, which is its first in Chile.

The factory will produce liquid chocolate and compounds for a variety of regional food manufacturers and confectionery companies located in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru.

Barry Callebaut general manager Gerardo Elizondo told foodingredientsfirst: "The opening of this state-of-the-art chocolate factory allows us to even better serve our current and future customers in Latin America.

"We're excited to expand our manufacturing footprint and to gain a strong foothold in a region which offers a lot of growth potential for us and for our customers," Elizondo added.

The facility in Chile is the seventh factory of the Barry Callebaut Group in Latin America.

Presently, the company operates two cocoa factories and a chocolate factory in Brazil, as well as a cocoa factory and two chocolate factories in Mexico.