Firmenich Opens Beverage Center of Excellence in Belgium

11 Feb 2014 --- Flavor supplier Firmenich has opened a Beverage Center of Excellence in Belgium. The state-of-the-art facility will focus on the creation and marketing of flavour solutions for the beverage industry, according to the company, with innovation being an integral part of this focus.

Firmenich has had a presence in the region since 2007 and operates its primary beverage manufacturing plant near the new facility just outside of Brussels in Belgium. The company has made no secret of its plans to expand its Taste Modulation business in Europe, particularly in Beverages, and this new facility represents part of this long-term strategy.

Until now the company had been using existing labs on the site before completing the project but upgrading its laboratory facilities. Firmenich has now increased its innovation and creation capabilities to better meet the needs of customers across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

“Based on the continued growth of our business with our beverage customers in the region, we are thrilled to have made this strategic investment,” said Mark Bailey, VP Flavours Europe.

“We are committed to creating centres of excellence around the world and to bringing our state-of-the-art technologies closer to our customers and their consumers,” said Aldo Uva, president of Firmenich Flavors. “This is just one step in fulfilling this commitment globally.”

The centre has been designed specifically to foster collaboration between the different functions including creation, analytical, application and marketing, through open and shared work stations. In addition, a pilot plant on site is capable of mimicking the industrial process for all relevant beverage processing steps, which minimises complications related to scale-up in product development.

“With this new facility, we can provide not only the latest beverage innovation to our clients, but also provide improved service and efficiency,” Bailey concluded.

Firmenich is one of the leading companies worldwide in the flavour and fragrance business. The company, which was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1895, invests around 10% of its turnover each year in research and development.

by Sonya Hook