CEMOI Group Buys U.S. Molded Chocolate Maker Chris Candies

French chocolate manufacturer CEMOI Group acquired Chris Candies Inc., a Pittsburgh, PA-based maker of molded chocolate products, a report by FoodIngredientsFirst.com said Monday.

The French firm said Chris Candies’ products align with recent healthy eating trends, as the company has the capability to produce organic, fair-trade, and low-sugar chocolates and possesses a number of key certifications like SQF 2000 Level 3, Kosher, and Organic. The company can also produce gluten free, certified GMO free, fair trade, and vegan chocolates.

“Chocolate is a nice market. You don’t need chocolate to live, but ultimately you do need pleasure to live: chocolate is pleasure. People are looking to eat less quantity, but better quality and dark chocolate is something that we are working on, which is part of the French DNA: high cocoa content and taste. We want to express this taste all around the world,” said Patrick Poirrier, chief executive officer of CEMOI Group, in an interview with FoodIngredientsFirst.com. “Europe is our home market, but we want to also expand in the world in North America and Asia.”

Chris Candies was founded in 1940 by George Christ and provides products year-round for private label brands and supermarket chains, clubs, groceries and specialty store channels. According to CEMOI, recent investments were made to improve the U.S. firm’s molding and packaging capabilities.

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