Bühler and Givaudan open plant-based innovation center tailored to Asia

13 Feb 2020 --- Bühler and Givaudan are joining forces in Singapore to open a unique Innovation Center dedicated to plant-based food. Planned to open later this year, the new facility will be jointly run by the two companies, bringing together a pilot plant featuring Bühler extrusion and processing equipment with a kitchen and flavor laboratory by Givaudan. The facility will be supported by experts from both companies who see a lot of market potential for plant-based products in the coming years in the alternative meat sector, in Asia, in particular.

The Innovation Center will welcome food processing companies, start-ups and university researchers looking to develop novel plant-based food products. Bühler’s equipment and processing expertise combined with Givaudan’s flavor, taste, ingredient and product development expertise will create a unique offering and synergy that will be greatly advantageous to those developing new products, particularly when using wet or dry extrusion.

The plant-based movement may be a solution to feeding the ballooning global population.“The projected population of 10 billion people by 2050 is a challenge too big to be solved alone,” explains Ian Roberts, CTO of Bühler. “Companies are increasingly aware of the urgent need to collaborate to make an impact on the climate and nutrition challenges of this century.”

“Universities, start-ups and companies need to come together to innovate and find more sustainable ways to produce food. This is what this Innovation Center is all about and we are pleased we found a like-minded partner to bring this vision to life in Asia, home to half of the world’s population,” he continues.

Focusing on Asian markets
Fabio Campanile, Head of Science and Technology at Givaudan, explains how industry leaders can come together to the benefit of the whole food innovation ecosystem. “We are especially excited that this project will take place in Singapore, a diverse country at the heart of Southeast Asia with strong ambitions for the future of food,” he says. 

“Our combined expertise in the development and manufacture of plant-based foods will allow for new ranges that cater to Asian tastes, texture expectations and cooking techniques.”

“The initial focus on extruded products is important as this is a key technology for developing authentic meat alternatives. It is also a great strength for Givaudan – we’ve optimized the flavor and taste aspects and are able to make these extruded products extremely delicious and nutritious to consumers,” Campanile adds.

The innovation center is set to open in Q4 this year.The Innovation Center is currently under construction at the Givaudan Woodlands site in Singapore. The full facility opening is planned for the fourth quarter of 2020. 

There is a continuing boom for plant-based products, innovation and R&D, which continues to gather pace in global markets. The plant-based trend has been growing over many years, but Innova Market Insights further affirmed its strength by coining 2020 as the year of “The Plant-Based Revolution”, highlighting this as their number two trend for 2020. 

The penchant for plant-based is further pronounced as several key players are moving toward meat alternatives and diversifying their portfolios to include and/or focus on plant-based food. 

Edited by Gaynor Selby