Cémoi reports strong growth in chocolate production

France’s chocolate company Cémoi has increased the industrial chocolate production by almost 30% over the past two years. It now represents 45% of the group’s total output which in 2005 totalled 158,000 tonnes of chocolate. The family-owned firm,which is France’s leading producer of retailers’ own brand chocolate bars, has invested E 8m in a new plant in Dunkirk which offers production capacity of 20,000 tonnes of liquid chocolate and 9,000 tonnes of cocoa powder. Cémoi is also eyeing growth in the added-value seasonal chocolate segment which currently accounts for around 15% of its production.