Revolutionary technology enhances communication and speeds up flavour development

Givaudan announces the launch of Myromi^™, a patent-pending handheld aroma delivery device controlled via smartphone. The technology facilitates real-time engagement, enabling users to create new aroma profiles while collecting valuable consumer feedback through a customised digital interface.

“Myromi^™ adds to our growing suite of digital tools for collaborating with customers to speed up product development. Once connected, users can explore saved aroma profiles, create new blends, leave comments, enter liking scores and fill out surveys. These capabilities eliminate much of the guesswork involved in formulation. From quickly determining product development direction to landing on the right flavour profile, the device is already delivering results,” said Fabio Campanile, Global Head of Science & Technology, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing.

Traditional methods of gathering consumer feedback can be costly and slow, leading to development delays and reduced chances of success. Myromi^™ tackles some of the biggest challenges faced by product developers through:

Instant feedback

Myromi^™ enables users to capture real-time reactions from customers and consumers. Aromas can be blended and adjusted on the spot through the easy-to-use interface.

Simplified flavour concept development

With up to eight flavour channels, Myromi^™ aromas can be mixed and matched effortlessly. This means different combinations can be tested in real-time, speeding up the development process.

Shared vocabulary

Myromi^™ can be used to help consumers and formulators understand what terminology to use when describing a flavour profile, making feedback easier to interpret.

Portability and accessibility

Myromi^™ is lightweight and portable, allowing it to be used anywhere — in the lab, office, or on the road.

Cost-effective co-creation

Myromi^™ offers an easy and affordable way to involve audiences in co-creation, ensuring valuable insights are gained efficiently.

Throughout 2025, the technology will gradually be rolled out within Givaudan for customer use. With Myromi^™, Givaudan is committed to helping customers create food experiences that resonate with their consumers. By increasing engagement throughout the product development process, this innovative device empowers creators to co-create flavours that accurately reflect ever-evolving consumer desires.

Symrise is relaunching its beverage incubator Califormulations and renaming the brand into bWorks™. This step completes the evolution from a partial investment into a full acquisition over recent years. Since 2019, Symrise has been delivering end-to-end beverage innovation to consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies and their brands. bWorks™ now builds on the existing legacy of innovative and trustworthy beverage solutions. It is expanding its services as an incubation partner with the unique capacity to support both small-scale and large-scale production.

In its capacity as beverage incubator, bWorks™ offers end-to-end solutions from concept to market-ready products. It is leveraging consumer insights, winning flavours, rapid prototyping, as well as agile manufacturing. This unique incubator approach combined with expert taste solutions brings together creativity and commercialisation. This allows for speed to market at the right size with the right flavour profile.

“Our modular services, from insights and design to prototyping, development, and full-scale production, make us the ideal partner our customers’ beverage innovation journey”, states Fernando Levy, Sr. Director of Beverages BU NA. “Customers can obtain limited-edition runs, line extensions, regional or national launches, or long-term productions from us. bWorks™ adapts to customer needs through our bundle services and longstanding flavour expertise”.

As a premier solution turnkey partner, bWorks™ will continue to support customers with beverage innovation across three beverage-focused locations within the USA: Teterboro, NJ, Columbus, GA, and Laguna Beach, CA. The manufacturing site in Columbus, GA, provides agility with run capabilities ranging from 10k to 100k cases per SKU. This covers a variety of packaging, including cans, bottles, and bag-in-box. The site has also received certification from the Department of Agriculture as an approved food manufacturing facility (SQF Level 3, FSMA/HACCP). This includes alcohol permits and the ability to provide certification in Organic, Kosher and Halal.

Having joined Tetra Pak more than 24 years ago, Sara has delivered countless innovations across solutions development, programme management, and equipment engineering for the company and its food and beverage customers. Her mandate in the new role is to develop and deliver innovative solutions with the highest value for customers, collaborate across the business to accelerate their deployment, and fast-track the work to realise the company’s ambition to deliver the world’s most sustainable paper-based food and beverage package¹.

She is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is a member of the Tetra Pak Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Adolfo Orive, President & CEO.

Holding a Master’s Degree in Industrial Design from the University of Florence and a Post-graduation Master’s in Technology and Innovation Management from the University of Bologna, Sara joined Tetra Pak in 2001 as an industrial designer for carton packaging opening systems. Her technical, relational and collaborative skills led her to become Managing Director for Tetra Pak Packaging Solutions S.p.A. in Modena, Italy, a research and development centre, and Vice President of Programme Management in D&T.

Sara De Simoni, Executive Vice President Development & Technology (D&T) at Tetra Pak, comments: “Tetra Pak D&T brings together an exceptionally talented team of designers, of doers, of people who make things happen. I am proud to be leading them in our journey to shape the future of food packaging, and I see this as an opportunity to drive forward our pursuit of innovation, design excellence and groundbreaking sustainable solutions. We will continue to focus on delivering those solutions for our customers, who are at the centre of everything we do.”

¹A carton package made of renewable or recycled materials, which are responsibly sourced, therefore helping protect and restore our planet’s climate, resources and biodiversity; contributing towards low carbon production and distribution; convenient and safe, therefore helping to enable a resilient food system; fully recyclable.

EUR 10 million center will speed up new packaging and product developments

SIG is celebrating the official opening of its EUR 10 million Packaging Development Center Europe, located at the site of the company’s packaging plants in Linnich, Germany. The center will accelerate new and most sustainable packaging developments and offer SIG customers added value.

The new center features state-of-the-art extrusion and finishing technology, coupled with advanced quality measurement systems and testing equipment. It will significantly increase packaging processability in serial production, system validation and capacity for future digital technologies.

As demand for more sustainable packaging options increases, the new Packaging Development Center Europe will speed up the development of innovative packaging formats and materials to further expand SIG’s leading position in sustainable packaging solutions. It is built according to the latest and most effective energy standards.

SIG is celebrating the official opening of its €10 million Packaging Development Center, located at the site of the company’s packaging plants in Linnich, Germany. The center will accelerate new and most sustainable packaging developments and offer SIG customers added value.

The new center features state-of-the-art extrusion and finishing technology, coupled with advanced quality measurement systems and testing equipment. It will significantly increase packaging processability in serial production, system validation and capacity for future digital technologies.

As demand for more sustainable packaging options increases, the new Packaging Development Center will speed up the development of innovative packaging formats and materials to further expand SIG’s leading position in sustainable packaging solutions. It is built according to the latest and most effective energy standards.

Capsoil Foodtech’s innovative platform converts bioactive oils into water-soluble powders

Product developers can now create new categories of functional foods and beverages thanks to Prodalim Resources, Ltd.’s new Capsoil Foodtech. The company advanced the capacity for mixing oil and water by developing ultra-fine, water-soluble powders out of natural oils. This breakthrough presents new possibilities for integrating beneficial nutritional oils, fat-soluble vitamins, and lipid-based nutrients into a broadened range of functional foods and beverages, as well as in new supplement formats.

The market for functional foods and beverages has grown exponentially as health and wellness have taken central stage, especially in the wake of the pandemic era. Concurrently, growing “pill fatigue” has consumers seeking their daily nutrient boosts more naturally through foods and beverages. However, beneficial oils such as omega fatty acids, MCT’s (medium-chain triglycerides) and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, have traditionally been confined to a narrow scope of food and supplement applications due to their lipophilic nature. Such nutrients also suffered from stability issues.

“Oil and water cannot mingle according to the laws of nature,” explains Itay Shafat, PhD, Scientific Director for Capsoil. “In Capsoil, we found a way of overcoming this barrier and created an advanced method for incorporating oil-based nutrients into water-based products. This opens the doors to products such as juices enriched with MCTs or ice pops fortified with omega fatty acids. Even hot drinks can get a ‘better-for-you’ upgrade by infusing them with beneficial oils, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K, or hemp oils. The possibilities are endless.”

Capsoil’s proprietary technology takes any oil compound and converts it to a self-emulsifying powder. Unlike conventional powders, this novel process results in a dry, free-flowing powder that dissolves easily in either hot or cold liquids.

Capsoil’s advanced production technology does not apply any form of extraction, solvent, or heat process, nor does it alter the nutrient profile of the oil. Capsoil powders contain from 30 % to 60 % of the oil and its bioactive compounds, and the emulsion’s nanostructured particles possess a large surface area, enhancing bioaccessibility and absorption of the encapsulated oil, leading to improved bioavailability. This can also translates into lower dose requirements.

“We are working with food and beverage companies to help them tailor new food and beverage applications, or find new novel delivery methods, for desired food oils or key fat-soluble nutrients,” adds Shafat.

Capsoil’s tech also targets the dietary supplement space, giving the formulators new capabilities for incorporating lipid-based ingredients such as omega 3 into dry pill, capsule, or sachet formats rather than as an oil or softgel.

“Many consumers find it difficult to ingest omega fatty acids in oil form, or they dislike the texture of soft gels,” states Nir Ilani, CEO of Capsoil. “Consuming high amounts of MCT’s, a key component of the keto diet, is also burdensome for many consumers. Our tech allows for oil-based ingredients to be enjoyed in low, manageable doses and easy-to-digest formats.”

“We trialed a broad spectrum of Capsoil powdered oils in various water-based applications, assessing such key parameters as bioavailability and stability of the actives with very encouraging results,” adds Shafat. “Further clinical trials are in the pipeline that will allow our innovative powdered formats to open the doors to new advances in functional product diversity.”

Capsoil FoodTech was established by Prodalim Group, one of the world’s leading producers of natural fruit extracts and concentrates (NFCs), as well as other natural ingredients for the F&B industry. Nir Ilani, who previously worked for Unilever, Frutarom, and IFF, along with Itay Shafat, PhD—a seasoned veteran of the dietary supplement market—were recruited to lead the new venture. The company’s R&D center is based in Israel, with production facilities in the US.

Leveraging combined capabilities to shape new sustainable innovations for customers

Givaudan and Novozymes, the world leaders in their respective industries, are excited to announce the formation of a strategic research partnership for the development of synergistic innovative ingredients and technologies for customers. The two companies will jointly work on the research and development of innovative sustainable solutions in the areas of food and cleaning.

This new partnership is fully in line with Novozymes’ updated strategy Better Business with Biology and with Givaudan’s 2025 strategic goals to expand its offering to consumers’ brands through innovative and sustainable solutions.

Givaudan brings the highest investment in research and development in the industry, has an in- depth understanding of consumers around the world and creates the emotional signatures and food experiences for consumer brands.

Novozymes brings innovation with extensive know-how in enzymes and microorganisms with substantial investments in technology and R&D. On the commercial side, Novozymes is in strong commercial partnerships with some of the largest companies in the industries of Household Care and Food & Beverages. Being the world leader within biological solutions, Novozymes drives sustainable solutions that enable differentiated product performance for consumers.

Together the two companies will work on specific projects with the aim to bring to their respective customers a differentiating solution offering. With a significant overlap of end use markets, there is a fundamental belief that the partnership can generate customer value by combining the two companies’ capabilities and solutions.

Gilles Andrier, Chief Executive Officer at Givaudan said: “We are very excited to initiate this strategic partnership with Novozymes, a much respected company that has an impressive heritage and research platform in biological solutions. Our purpose of ‘creating for healthier, happier lives with love for nature’ fully aligns with the aspiration of Novozymes for a world with 100 % biological products. Together we have the potential to grow with our respective customers while increasing our positive impact on the world with products consumers feel good about, and that preserve our planet.

A team of technical experts is helping Coca-Cola North America launch breakthrough beverages in emerging categories – from kombuchas, to cultured ciders, to keto-friendly smoothies, to cold-brew coffees – in record time.

The Transformational Innovation Team partners with brands and business units to take new drinks in unfamiliar spaces to commercialization in a handful of months. A rotating group of specialists from Research and Development (R&D), Quality, Safety & Environmental Sustainability, Technical Commercialization and Scientific and Regulatory Affairs (SRA) is helping the company navigate uncharted territory by challenging existing approaches to innovation – from sourcing and seeking approval on new ingredients, to producing beverages in emerging categories, to bringing new brands to market – through an agile, test- and-learn launch model.

“We combine the best of what entrepreneurs do and the best of what Coca-Cola does,” explains team lead Susan Zaripheh. “Entrepreneurs dream of having the power of our brands and scale of our distribution network, and large global companies like Coke want to be able to innovate quickly, iteratively and stay
competitive in emerging spaces.”

Inspiring a mindset shift

This means challenging organizational processes and breaking down boundaries. “Capability isn’t an issue at Coca-Cola,” Zaripheh says. “Our talent and people are top notch. What we’re trying to do is inspire a mindset shift and push the company into new or emerging segments consumers want us to explore.”

The Transformational Innovation Team has partnered with Minute Maid to develop several breakthrough products in 2019, including Cidewinder, which boasts similar digestive health benefits as kombucha but with less sugar. The cultured juice brand, which leveraged a novel ingredient and process from a third-party company, is being tested in grocery and convenience store outlets in Texas and California.

“Cidewinder is an example of how we’re moving quickly, but deliberately, by running small market tests before investing significant time or resources,” Zaripheh said. “Some of the brands we’re helping to launch will not reach scale, but that’s the point of what we’re doing. We’re pushing the company to move faster than ever and to use real-time market data to make informed decisions and gain important learnings for the future.”

Following the consumer

Odwalla, meanwhile, tapped Zaripheh’s team to help develop a zero-sugar, keto-friendly smoothie using trending ingredients like MCT oil and coconut cream – bringing the first-of-its-kind offering in the Coca-Cola portfolio to life in less than six months.

“Our partnership with the Transformational Innovation Team has added tremendous value to our decision making,” said John Hackett, president, Minute Maid Business Unit. “With their support, we’ve been able to test emerging spaces quickly and gain real-world learnings. Direct guidance from the market enables us to focus our investments on ideas and innovations that strongly resonate with consumers.”

The team also partnered with Honest to launch two category-crossing innovations – Honest Kombucha and Honest Cold Brew Co”ee. Honest is building a master brand beyond its core tea business and, as part of that strategy, decided in 2019 to enter the fast-growing – and complex – kombucha segment. “Part of the Honest brand’s strategy is to ‘own the fridge’ of the
Millennial family by offering lower- sugar, organic beverages for all occasions,” said Rafael Acevedo, vice president, Tea Portfolio, Coca-Cola North America. “Given the rising popularity of kombucha, it made sense for a brand known for making tea to enter this space.”

The Transformational Innovation Team helped Honest enter this space by end of the year in a limited, 20-store test, then quickly aligned on a brand proposition and execution strategy. Results are expected in early 2020.

‘Being nimble doesn’t mean cutting corners’

The teams also partnered to secure all required approvals in time to produce and ship samples of Honest Cold Brew Coffee to the Natural Products Expo East tradeshow in only 10 weeks. The brand received great feedback from attendees.

“That project was not a product development challenge – it was a regulatory and food safety challenge,” explained Zaripheh, a food scientist with a PhD in nutrition. “Low-acid beverages like coffee have significant food safety and regulatory hurdles which can take a ton of time, but we were able to do even more due diligence by taking a different approach.”

Acevedo called the collaboration “a great example of how the company is approaching innovation differently and prioritizing agility to achieve effcient results.”

However, Zaripheh insists, the team takes steps to move quickly without compromising safety or quality, or taking due-diligence shortcuts. “Being nimble doesn’t mean cutting corners… it means approaching challenges from different angles and finding ways to parallel-path and operate with flexibility,” she added. “We hear a lot about speed to market these days. But speed by itself isn’t a competitive advantage – anyone can go fast. The key is identifying potential big bets, starting small and learning before making significant investments and launching at scale. That’s what we do.”

Creating a ripple effect

This group of “intrapraneurs” is on a mission to create a ripple effect by sharing learnings with Coca-Cola North America teams leading innovation projects across the system.

“Power is not having one team dedicated to transformational innovation, but seamlessly implementing learnings and frameworks across the organization and fueling new capability to drive growth,” said Simon Yeung, SVP, Innovation and Stewardship, Coca-Cola North America, noting that the team consulted and shared learnings with the sparkling water team spearheading the AHA brand launch. “Our goal is to get the system to move faster and deliver more disruptive innovation… to take on meatier projects and platform-able ideas and bring them to life.”

AGRANA, one of the leading food and industrial goods groups from Austria, is increasing its focus on innovations and investing around € 3.4 million at two R&D sites in France and Austria this year. The annual R&D expenditures of the AGRANA Group amount to around € 20 million. AGRANA employs a total of approximately 300 personnel in the area of research and development.

In a highly competitive environment, the strategic objective of AGRANA is to differentiate itself from competitors by means of new product developments in its fruit, starch and sugar business segments.

Fruit preparations: new development centre in France

For its fruit preparations business, AGRANA maintains 17 development centres around the world which work on new formulations, special ingredients and raw materials as well as new application areas for existing products. Five of these so-called New Product Development Centres are located in Europe, namely in Gleisdorf (Austria), Ostroleka (Poland), Serpukhov (Russia), Vinnytsia (Ukraine) and in Mitry-Mory (France), where the development centre has recently been upgraded for € 2.6 million, including the addition of 700 m2 of laboratory space (see image).

“AGRANA is the global market leader in fruit preparations. That’s why it is important to be an innovator and not a market follower with me-too products. In our role as a first mover in regional markets, we try to pick up on new development trends as early as possible. We develop products in close collaboration with our customers in order to reflect local market requirements and these latest trends. Our global network of product developers enables us to launch over 1,000 new fruit preparation products on the market every year”, explains AGRANA CEO Johann Marihart.

In response to specific regional demands and the latest nutritional trends, the portfolio of fruit preparations ranges from top quality fruit purées and inclusions for dairy products, ice creams and bakery products to the latest solutions for plant-based spoonable and drinkable yoghurt products. In addition to fruit preparations, AGRANA also offers brown flavours such as caramel, coffee or vanilla as well as products with inclusions (e.g. chocolate balls).

€ 800,000 invested in expansion of the AGRANA Research & Innovation Centre (ARIC) in Tulln

The AGRANA Research & Innovation Centre (ARIC) in Tulln is the main research and development subsidiary within the AGRANA Group. On an area of around 4,000 m2 at ARIC, 85 employees work on research projects related to fruit, starch and sugar. ARIC is currently undergoing expansion work, with the aim being to create a further 300 m2 for research purposes by the end of the year. The investment volume amounts to € 800,000.

In its fruit segment, AGRANA conducts research into the development of innovative natural stabilisers for fruit preparations as well as processes for sensitively handling fruit ingredients. The aim is to optimally maintain the natural properties of the fruit.

In the starch segment, AGRANA works in accordance with its specialities strategy on the development of special applications. Current focus areas related to food starches, for example, include the development of organic and clean-label products which have not been chemically modified. In the case of technical starches, the focus is on the development of special starches, such as those for use in tile adhesives or green glues as alternatives to synthetic adhesives, as well as on compostable starch-based films.

In the sugar segment, the focal point of work ongoing is on the development of new, environmentally-friendly and energy-saving processes and process steps in the area of production as well as on maximising the efficiency of sugar beet utilisation and the optimal exploitation of by-products, such as extracting betaine.

As the market for oat drinks grows, Novozymes has developed a new toolbox to guide producers to expand their businesses into oat drinks.

Half a billion people worldwide are either vegan or vegetarian, 26 % of millennials have already embraced this lifestyle and 73 % among them are willing to pay more for sustainable food and drinks¹. The combination of these trends is giving the sale of oat drinks a boost, with an expected growth of 30 % a year².

“A new market is opening up and booming. To help dairies and beverage producers expand their portfolio and create new types of oat drinks, we have developed a toolbox that can help them expand their business into this new territory,” says Alessandro Palumbo, Market Development Manager at Novozymes.

Oat drinks is the fastest growing category in the plant based beverage segment. This is mainly due to the fact that oat drinks have one of the best nutritional profiles among dairy alternatives. Oat drinks is also known for its benefits when it comes to sustainability.

In spite of huge interest and a growing market, a study finds only 2 in 10 consumers think that plant protein is extremely good tasting².

“The fast-growing demand gives producers the opportunity to develop and market new types of oat drinks. But at the same time, it’s also a challenge to come up with products that match the consumer’s taste and preference,” Alessandro Palumbo says.

Speed up development and help match consumer’s taste and preference

The new enzymatic toolbox is developed by Novozymes and is the first of its kind. It provides insights into how to use and combine enzymes, raw material and production parameters to adjust sweetness, mouthfeel and nutritional profile in oat drinks. It also provides insights for producers into how to optimize the production process and save costs.

“The toolbox gives dairy and beverage producers the opportunity to develop the oat drinks consumers want. By teaming up with Novozymes, they will be able to select the flavor and nutritional profile of their drink, starting from a prototype and quickly scale it up using the perfect combination of enzymes, raw materials and equipment,” says Alessandro Palumbo.

“This will help them to speed up the go-to-market process while reducing their risks related to new product development”.

By working with Novozymes, producers will also have access to a team of experts, who can provide 360^° technical support from raw material to finished product. The toolbox can be accessed from here.

¹Vegans, millennials and willingness to pay a premium
²Findings from Quid platform on healthy eating and a Novozymes’ plant protein consumer research conducted in the USA in December 2018 with an online panel of 1,000 respondents, carried out by Natural Marketing Institute (NMI).

Diana Food has opened a new R&D laboratory to drive its innovation in Consumer Health products.

Located in Québec City, Québec, the center will support a nearby facility where Diana produces nutritional ingredients for use in a range of health solutions. Rob Evans, Director of Research & Development at Diana Food, said, “The decision to create this new lab emphasizes Diana’s commitment to the market, the North American scientific community, and the company’s long-term growth in the consumer health category.”

The Research & Development facility’s location is a strategic one. Its proximity to Diana’s Consumer Health plant not only allows for the easy transfer of knowledge and technology, but also helps transfer laboratory innovation into scalable manufacturing. Additionally, the center is close to Quebec’s little fruits producing region, providing quick access to fresh, natural resources.

The creation of new products and processes will be a key focus at the new facility. The team working here, which includes scientists from Diana’s labs in France, will extract polyphenols from locally sourced materials like cranberries and blueberries and explore their application in health offerings like dietary supplements. As Mr. Evans noted, “These scientists are experts in the consumer health market and those coming from France bring with them prior expertise that will help expedite local development and testing.”

This Research & Development laboratory also echoes Diana’s work with the Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (INAF) at Laval University. Launched in November 2018, this Chair of Research is dedicated to researching the effects of fruit and vegetable-derived polyphenols on regulating microbiota in the human gut.

Diana Food’s ingredients are sourced from carefully selected raw materials and their solutions are supported by robust, clinically proven science. The company’s specializations in this category include sports nutrition products, functional food and drink to boost women’s health, and supplements to encourage healthy aging and add energy and vitality.

Symrise has announced the company’s investment in and the creation of a strategic partnership with Califormulations, LLC, a unique platform designed to deliver end-to-end beverage innovation to consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and their brands. Califormulations, LLC combines the expertise of Symrise, including its Beverage Innovation Centers in Laguna Beach and Teterboro, with the offering of The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TGOD).

Paul Graham, President, Symrise Flavor North America, stated, “Major packaged goods companies put their focus on agile innovation to help fuel growth around their core brands. Agile venturing and creative innovation sprints will replace the traditional and often time-consuming ‘stage gate’ innovation funnel and are changing innovation sustainably.”

Califormulations, LLC fully embraces this approach. The company is run by an industry experienced management team and built on a business model that is designed for speed, agility, flexibility and focused innovation, with each investor harnessing specialized expertise.

The new platform combines beverage expertise and innovation capabilities with the ability to quickly develop shelf-ready, scalable products. Customers will have access to the expertise located at three locations: the newly formed Califormulations, LLC location in Columbus, Georgia, with 100,000 sq ft for beverage development, multi-purpose production, pilot scale flexible bottling and shelf-ready, scalable packaging; Symrise’s regional headquarters in Teterboro, New Jersey, providing global expertise in flavor solutions, including taste for sugar reduced products; and the specialized Symrise Beverage Center in Laguna Beach, California, to inspire creativity in beverage product concepts.

Utilizing the expertise located at these three locations, Califormulations, LLC in cooperation with Symrise will deliver a rapid innovation approach composed of four integrated parts: Insights & Design, Prototyping & Evaluation, Development & Production and the Activation Ecosystem.

The Symrise team brings a proven reputation in beverage innovation and incubation, a comprehensive portfolio of consumer insights, a strong footprint in beverage and CPG accounts including core listings with global brands. TGOD adds a new element to the business through their expertise in producing premium organic cannabinoids. Using sustainable growing practices, TGOD offers organic CBD and other organic cannabinoids where allowed by local laws and regulations. The end result is a unique, agile, end-to-end approach to innovation with full project management across every step.

Paul Graham concluded, “The complementary capabilities of Califormulations, LLC will foster innovation and scale new, successful brands quickly.”

SIG has opened a new Tech Centre, close to its packaging plant in Suzhou in China, which will bring a new dimension in supporting customers with the development and implementation of new product concepts and market-ready packaging solutions.

In the 17,500 square meter building, a team of SIG experts will develop and manufacture filling technology, conduct filling tests for customers and offer training. By focusing on product innovation and differentiation, the new Tech Centre fits in perfectly with SIG’s Value Proposition, which aims to create added value for customers and consumers alike.

SIG’s Tech Centre accommodates a state-of-the-art test and training centre, with the latest filling machines, upstream food processing equipment and UHT systems, which can process products with a wide range of viscosities and pieces. SIG will work closely with customers and offer professional support on aseptic filling tests and product concepts. The Training Centre is the second largest worldwide for SIG and is suited to both internal and external technical training on aseptic filling machines and downstream lines. The Tech Centre also hosts SIG’s Asian filler and applicator assembly operation and two Global Technology departments: Research & Development and Engineering & Application.

SIG’s Tech Centre has the highest standard as a green building and SIG is only the ninth industrial company with onsite manufacturing in China to earn the LEED Platinum standard with a total of 83 points – the second highest score in the entire country.

Strengthened organization will focus on R&D project pipeline growth in ingredient and process development

DuPont Nutrition & Health announced it is expanding its R&D team by creating a “clean label hub” at the Brabrand facility. Intending to boost its project pipeline in healthy nutrition and clean label texturant offerings, six new employees will join the existing team to focus on both ingredient and process development.

The hub will feature experts with backgrounds in clean label and sustainability – two fields that often work together and serve related purposes. Working closely with existing project teams, the hub will bring products to market quickly and help grow the existing project pipeline.

“Clean label is about creating foods and beverages with ingredients that consumers recognize, feel good about putting into their bodies, and that respect the Earth and its resources,” said Gerard Lynch, R&D Leader, Systems & Texturants, Emulsifiers & Sweeteners. “Our ingredients are already used in many applications that consumers consider clean label, but there are tremendous opportunities to innovate – creating ingredients that are even more sustainable, using a larger part of the natural raw materials, while providing health benefits to consumers. Committing to this innovation is critical for our ongoing success and growth.”

With the ability to utilize the broadest capabilities in terms of natural raw materials access, processing, across fruits, vegetables, seaweeds and nutritional science, DuPont Nutrition & Health has huge potential to develop functional ingredients that meet consumer expectations.

The hub will help customers continue to navigate clean label trends in a proactive and sustainable way. DuPont Nutrition & Health is seeking creative scientists and engineers to identify ways to convert sustainable and natural raw materials into clean label solutions that meet consumer demands for simplicity and authenticity, all without compromising taste, texture and nutritional qualities.

Planned to be in place by early 2019, the clean label texturants team will have the opportunity to tackle exciting projects to provide texture and stability for multiple food applications.

State-of-the-art facility to support development of innovative, on-trend, nutritious products to meet growing food and beverage demand in Asia-Pacific

Archer Daniels Midland Company celebrated the opening of its new regional office and state-of-the-art flavor and ingredient creation, application, development and customer innovation center in Shanghai, China. The opening of the space was announced at a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“With today’s busy lifestyles, people are turning to healthier eating habits, accelerating changes in consumer tastes and preferences at an unprecedented rate. For ADM, Shanghai has played a critical role in our continued growth and innovation. To help Asia-Pacific food and beverage customers remain a step ahead, we’re excited to leverage our technology, expertise and global scale,” said Donald Chen, ADM’s president, Asia.

Shanghai’s technical innovation center will enable ADM to work closely with customers to create complete flavor and specialty ingredient solutions. It will be staffed by a team of food scientists, flavorists and applications experts, along with sales, marketing and regulatory personnel. The new Shanghai facility joins our recently opened Singapore Innovation Center in helping ADM meet growing demand in the region.

“Around the world, ADM continues to invest to ensure that we are the go-to solution providers for clean label, sustainable ingredients and great taste,” said Vince Macciocchi, president of ADM’s Nutrition business. “This new facility enhances our portfolio and capabilities ensuring our customers meet consumer demands for new, innovative food and beverages.”

The new innovation center features a wide range of capabilities, including a food and flavor analytic lab; beverage and dairy applications labs and pilot plants; a bakery lab; a confectionery and personal care lab; a culinary kitchen; flavor creation labs; sensory evaluation facilities; and a customer innovation center.

China is home to approximately 675 ADM employees, with application labs in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou; a flavor production facility in Beijing; sweeteners and soluble fiber complex in Tianjin; animal nutrition facilities in Dalian, Tianjin, Nanjing, Zhangzhou and Xiangtan. ADM has more than 1,000 employees throughout the wider Asia-Pacific region, where the company operates a wide range of processing facilities, including several animal feed facilities; a flavor and ingredient facility; food and flavor labs in Japan, Singapore and Australia; and sales offices in every major market in the region.

New laboratory facilities in Mierlo put into operation

The GNT Group announced the opening of its brand new laboratory facilities in Mierlo, The Netherlands. With an investment of more than three million euros, one of the global market leaders in Colouring Foods has considerably expanded its capacities for product development and quality control. Over the past years, the GNT site in Mierlo has been constantly growing, now covering six hectares. The new facility makes a crucial contribution to supporting the sustainable growth that is fundamental to the company’s strategic 2020 plan.

Situated adjacent to the production site at GNT’s headquarters in Mierlo, the new laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies for quality control, as GNT aims to meet the growing and specific demands of its global customer base. The extension of its facilities significantly enhances the company’s core strength of innovation, through integrating the key functions of product development, process development and engineering, the speed of innovation will be increased even further.

Specialists to boost innovation

Since the demand for truly natural colour solutions is constantly on the rise, GNT is also investing significantly in growing its research and development team. The Group currently employs in total 320 people throughout its global network, this number will rise in line with the continuing success which is supported by its exciting innovation pipeline.

Ensuring a sustainable and excellent working environment, the family-owned company is an important employer especially in the area around Mierlo and across the border to its second production facility in Aachen, Germany.