Mondelez has opened a $22 million chocolate crumb plant at its Cadbury factory in Shah Alam, Malaysia. The site replaces crumb previously imported from Australia and South Africa, cutting at least two months from supply chain lead times, according to the company.
When another plant in Asia runs short, it can now source crumb from Shah Alam rather than place an overseas order. The plant has already supplied crumb to Pakistan to cover a shortfall.
The RM90 million investment includes Malaysia’s first crumb T-reactor and a fully automated, halal-certified system for producing and handling the powder and fat used in crumb.
“Making chocolate crumb in Malaysia instead of importing it from Australia and South Africa cuts at least two months from the supply chain lead time,” said Nitin Binnani, Mondelez’s vice president of integrated supply chain for Southeast Asia.
The plant will produce about 100 million chocolate bars a year across more than 130 varieties, according to Supply Chain Brain, and is now Mondelez’s only Cadbury manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia.
The move comes as chocolate demand shifts toward Asia-Pacific, whose share of the global market is projected to rise from 19.6% in 2025 to 22% by 2030. Cargill made a similar bet in April, expanding specialty-fats production at its Port Klang plant, also targeting regional chocolate demand.
Mondelez has operated its Selangor plant since 1974 and now calls Shah Alam a reference plant in its global manufacturing network.
