Nestlé's New Irish R&D Center Set to Support Infant Nutrition
11 Mar 2016 --- Nestlé have announced its plans to invest €25 million ($27.7 million) in a significant expansion of its Research and Development Center in Askeaton, Ireland.
The facility will be located at Nestlé`s existing plant, which produces a range of high quality premium powdered milk-based products for infants, young children and mothers for export to world markets.
The R&D Center will focus on global product innovation for Nestlé’s Wyeth Nutrition infant and maternal nutrition business and is anticipated to open in late 2017.
FoodIngredientsFirst spoke with Dr Dan O'Callaghan, Head of R&D Center, Askeaton: "Our Research and Development team will be working on a range of opportunities to further enhance the nutritional profile of Wyeth Nutrition's range of premium infant formulas and growing-up milks to support the nutritional requirements of infant and young children.” 
“New ingredients with the potential to enhance the health and well-being of children will be evaluated in prototype formulations, on which clinical studies will be conducted to determine nutritional and health outcomes,” says Dr O'Callaghan.
Stefan Catsicas, Chief Technology Officer, Nestlé Research comments: “Nestlé has a long-standing reputation for excellence in food and nutrition research. This Center will be a leading laboratory in food and life sciences to continue to position Nestlé at the fore of infant and maternal nutritional product development.
"It will enable our scientists to explore nutritional opportunities that can improve the health and wellness of children’s lives,” claims Catsicas.
The extended R&D Center, part of Nestlé`s global R&D network of close to 5,000 people, will concentrate on developing premium, high quality, innovative, science based products for mothers and infants.
It will incorporate state of the art laboratory facilities as well as a full pilot-scale manufacturing line to facilitate development and testing of new products from initial concept through to finished product development.
The project investment is being supported by Enterprise Ireland.
Michael Cantwell, Director of the Food Division, Enterprise Ireland added: “This is a strategically important investment for Ireland and is a huge vote of confidence in the future of the Irish dairy industry and the research connectedness in Ireland.”
"Nestlé’s decision to extend its R&D center at its manufacturing plant at the Askeaton site is of critical strategic importance and underpins Nestlé’s commitment to its Irish based operations,” he says.
