Nestlé’s “innovation power-house”: Launch of R&D Accelerator promises to boost disruptive products

11 Apr 2019 --- Nestlé has launched its R&D Accelerator in Lausanne, Switzerland, bringing together scientists, students and start-ups to advance science and technology. The aim is to speed up the development of innovative products and for pioneers to tap into the systems and leverage the food and nutrition expertise of such a giant as Nestlé. In this way, the conglomerate hones in on taking entrepreneurial creativity and transforming it into tangible prototypes and products.

“We have taken a number of steps to accelerate innovation, including enhancing prototyping facilities across our organization, fast-tracking promising projects or conducting pragmatic market tests in specific channels,” Melanie Kohli, R&D Communications Nestlé S.A, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

External collaborations are strategic for Nestlé, Kohli explains, both in terms of science and technology insight of academic institutions, as well as the entrepreneurial creativity of innovation partners and start-ups. 

“With the Nestlé R&D Accelerator and its proximity to our R&D and business teams, we will bring open innovation to a new level,” she says. 

Nestlé’s initiative connects the talents of academic institutions and the entrepreneurial, disruptive spirit of start-ups around the expertise of a research center dedicated to growth.

Eligible teams have access to Nestlé’s R&D expertise and infrastructure, including shared labs, kitchens, bench-scale and pilot-scale equipment. The first teams have been selected and the accelerator will be operational by the end of 2019.

The accelerator is part of Nestlé’s global R&D network and located at the company’s fundamental research entity Nestlé Research, which employs around 800 people. It also includes several units of Nestlé’s R&D organization, leading academic institutions such as the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Zurich (ETHZ) and the Swiss Hospitality Management School in Lausanne (EHL) as well as a wide range of innovation partners, suppliers and start-ups.

“The Accelerator works across our strategic focus areas, which include nutrition, health and wellness. We have six teams who took up activities at the beginning of this month. Half of them are Nestlé teams, half of them are external or mixed,” Kohli adds. 

Nestlé has the world’s largest private food and nutrition R&D organization, involving around 4,200 people on 23 sites. Switzerland remains of central importance for Nestlé, with approximately 60 percent of its global R&D budget invested in the country.

Xingshan is a new brand of ready-to-drink herbal drinks and soups made with traditional Chinese ingredients, for busy urban professionals. Photo credit: NestléIn November 2018, Nestlé debuted the first product developed by its incubator team in China which had been launched earlier in the year, to fill the gaps and respond quickly to the country’s market needs in NPD. Xingshan is a new brand of ready-to-drink herbal drinks and soups made with traditional Chinese ingredients, for busy urban professionals. The range includes three herbal drinks and three herbal soups with key ingredients rose, pomegranate, tremella and mushroom.

The launch shows how Nestlé is leveraging new innovation platforms and internal incubators to speed up product development, to meet rapidly changing consumer tastes. Xingshan went from initiation to launch in only eight months, and will be first sold on e-commerce platforms.

Sharpened focus on future food innovations and on-trend products 
Nestlé’s move away from meat and into plant-based alongside the company’s renewed commitment to healthy and nutritional food has really stood out in terms of innovation and a shift in direction recently. The company continues to position its portfolio towards attractive high-growth categories and to pivot its businesses to changing market conditions. 

In February, it unveiled its first coffee lines under the Starbucks name which comes after Nestlé closed a US$7.15 billion licensing deal to market Starbucks Consumer Packaged Goods and Foodservice products globally. At the same time, Nestlé announced that it was exploring strategic options for the Herta charcuterie business including a potential sale. 

Nestlé’s Accelerator program launch also closely follows the company joining other leading food industry players to financially back a new project which aims to accelerate the development of healthy food products that leverage consumer trends. Bühler, Givaudan and Nestlé are co-founding the Future Food Initiative (FFI), designed to step up the search for sustainable, plastic-free packaging and to secure access to affordable nutrition as part of the global challenge of addressing hunger, malnutrition and sustainability.

And earlier this month, the Swiss food giant also made its latest foray into the meat-free market, launching a new “cook from raw” plant-based burger for European markets, while unveiling launch plans for the US later this year. 

Meanwhile, Nestlé continues to ramp up sustainability efforts and has already committed to making 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. The company is also accelerating its journey towards reaching full supply chain transparency by disclosing a list of its suppliers alongside a variety of data on its 15 priority commodities. These cover 95 percent of the company’s annual sourcing of raw materials including soy, meat, hazelnut and vanilla. 

By Gaynor Selby