Agrana to invest US$3.7 million in 2020 at R&D sites in France and Austria
27 Jan 2020 --- Agrana is increasing its focus on innovations and investing around €3.4 million (US$3.7 million) at two R&D sites in France and Austria this year. 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, the company notes.
The annual R&D expenditures of the Agrana Group amount to around €20 million (US$22 million). Agrana employs approximately 300 personnel in the area of R&D.
For its fruit preparations business, Agrana maintains 17 development centers around the world which work on new formulations, special ingredients and raw materials as well as new application areas for existing products. Five of the New Product Development Centers are located in Europe, namely in Gleisdorf (Austria), Ostroleka (Poland), Serpukhov (Russia), Vinnytsia (Ukraine) and in Mitry-Mory (France), where the development center has recently been upgraded for €2.6 million (US$2.8 million).
“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 Johann Marihart, Agrana CEO.
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 yogurt products. In addition to fruit preparations, Agrana also offers brown flavors such as caramel, coffee or vanilla as well as products with inclusions.
The company has invested €800,000 (US$881,000) for the expansion of the Agrana Research & Innovation Center (ARIC) in Tulln, which 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.
In its fruit segment, Agrana conducts research into the development of innovative natural stabilizers for fruit preparations as well as processes for sensitively handling fruit ingredients. The aim is to optimally maintain the natural properties of the fruit.
At the heart of the work in the sugar segment lies the development of new, environmentally friendly and energy-saving processes and process steps in the area of production as well as on maximizing the efficiency of sugar beet utilisation and the optimal exploitation of by-products, such as extracting betaine.
Edited by Elizabeth Green
