Olam Cocoa buys Indonesia’s largest cocoa processor, BT Cocoa for $90m

In the announcement, Global food and agri-business Olam International Limited announced that it has acquired an 85% share of YTS Holdings Pte Limited for $90m which is 100% owner of PT. Bumitangerang Mesindotama (BT Cocoa)

Olam Cocoa says it offers breadth, depth and scalability from origin sourcing, trading, risk management, value chain processing and supply chain solutions, to sustainability, research and development, and cocoa ingredient innovation. BT Cocoa supplies size and scale in Indonesian cocoa processing with a total installed cocoa bean grind and cocoa mass capacity of 150,000 metric tonnes and a facility equipped with the latest processing technology.

Gerard A Manley, CEO of Olam Cocoa, said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to rapidly expand our footprint in Asia and to develop this business with the founder and family of BT Cocoa. Our longstanding relationship will enable us to deliver world class cocoa ingredients and services to our expanded customer base and look to strengthen these relationships in the future in one of the fastest growing regions in the world​.”

Olam Cocoa says it has been working closely with BT Cocoa for almost three years through a Business Collaborative Agreement and has already made considerable financial and operational improvements, including helping BT Cocoa achieve a 30% reduction in energy consumption.

Ingredients portfolio

BT Cocoa’s prominence as an existing supplier to leading chocolate and confectionery manufacturers in the region presents new market opportunities for Olam Cocoa’s ingredients portfolio, such as value cocoa powders brand Huysman, which was launched in Asia in 2018, and to complement premium cocoa brand deZaan. With its world-leading team of R&D and Product Development and Innovation experts, Olam Cocoa says it is well positioned to capitalise on these emerging trends to support the needs of regional consumers.

Olam Cocoa has been operating in Indonesia since 1996 and is the country’s largest exporter of cocoa beans, establishing the company’s first cocoa sustainability initiative there in 2004.

Piter Jasman of BT Cocoa, said: "The relationship with Olam Cocoa represents a powerful opportunity for BT Cocoa to significantly expand our market with enhancements to quality, safety and ethically responsible cocoa products. The past three years of collaboration has clearly demonstrated the potential for delivering better value. The combination of Olam Cocoa's expertise as the leading global supplier and processor of sustainable cocoa, with BT Cocoa’s strong local network, will provide our customers with increasing benefits​.”