Barry Callebaut hires ex-Unilever CEO as cocoa volumes slide in Q1

Chocolate and cocoa giant Barry Callebaut announced Wednesday that it has named former Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher as its new chief executive officer, even as the company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results showing a decline in the sales volume of its cocoa products.

The chocolate maker announced that its CEO, Peter Feld, will be stepping down on January 26 to explore "other career opportunities," concluding his tenure of less than three years, according to a Reuters report.

According to analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank, the change in CEO suggests that the business's progress continues to fall short of expectations.

The world's leading cocoa processor, which supplies chocolate for popular products like Magnum ice creams and Nestlé's KitKat bars, reported a significant drop in first-quarter sales volume. 

For the period running from September to November, the volume decreased by 9.9%, totaling 509,401 metric tons.

The company's shares were trading 3.4% higher at 0957 GMT, a rise largely attributed to the CEO change, according to analysts. 

This happened as the company confirmed its financial year outlook. Analysts had anticipated an average of 512,000 tons, based on a company-provided poll.

"The appointment of Hein Schumacher lands like a small bombshell," Vontobel analysts were quoted in the report.

Significant transformation

Chairman Patrick De Maeseneire informed analysts during a call that Barry Callebaut is undergoing the most significant transformation in its history. 

He attributed this necessity to the company's inability to anticipate the volatile geopolitical climate and the record-high cocoa prices that have severely impacted the market.

Maeseneire, however, contradicted last month, rejecting the claim that the company was investigating splitting its worldwide cocoa division from the main group.

AlphaValue analyst Filippo Ercole Piva noted to Reuters that Schumacher has experience in spinning off businesses, including the separation of Unilever's Magnum ice-cream unit. 

Piva believes this expertise is why they are hiring him, stating, "They are paying for that."

Industry relationships

Barry Callebaut's change in leadership is the most recent among several such transitions at major consumer companies in the last 18 months.

According to a note from Vontobel, Schumacher, a Dutch national who was removed from Unilever in February 2025, will leverage his existing deep industry relationships with Barry Callebaut's key customers.

Since assuming the role of CEO in April 2023, Feld has navigated the company through a period of elevated cocoa prices, a challenge that Barry is more susceptible to than firms directly serving consumers, leading to a subsequent downturn in demand.

The latest quarterly data, which serves as a measure of chocolate demand via cocoa grind, revealed a decline in Asia. 

Furthermore, in Europe, which accounts for approximately two-fifths of Barry's revenue, the grind decreased by 8.3% compared to the previous year.

Barry Callebaut processes purchased cocoa beans to create cocoa butter and powder.

These ingredients are then used by manufacturers to produce chocolate and candy, which are ultimately sold directly to consumers.

Following three reductions to the company's volume guidance last year, the November projection anticipates a mid-single-digit percentage drop in cocoa product sales for 2025/26.