The site in Glemsford, Suffolk, will allow the company, which has been established in Asia since the 1980s, access to the UK market and will play a “key part of the Group’s vision to be fully integrated and a market leading cocoa supplier across the globe”.
A spokesman for GCB Cooca said: “The acquisition of the Philips Avent factory in Glemsford by GCB Cocoa UK is a tremendous leap in the advance of cocoa and chocolate supply production in the UK. This investment will provide training and skilled opportunities in the area, building a vertically integrated supply chain to facilitate the United Kingdom and beyond.”
GCB cocoa began trading cocoa beans in the 1980s. In 1983, it started processing cocoa beans by setting up a factory in Parit Jawa, Muar, Johor. In 1990, with the vision to become a market leader in the local cocoa processing industry, the management sold the plant in Parit Jawa and built a new plant in the Pasir Gudang Industrial Area under Guan Chong Cocoa Manufacturer (GCCM).
The Group is principally involved in the manufacturing of cocoa-derived food ingredients, namely cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa cake and cocoa powder.