SINGAPORE – Bühler, a global leader for food processing solutions, and Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing on April 26 announced the official opening of the APAC Protein Innovation Centre, located at the Givaudan Woodlands site in Singapore.

The facility is jointly run and supported by experts from both companies and is connected to a vast network of R&D innovation centers in Bühler-based Switzerland and key hubs across the region that enables plant-based product development on a global scale.

The companies said the facility welcomes food processing companies, start-ups and university researchers from across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region “keen to co-create plant-based food experiences that do good and feel good.”

The facility combines the pilot technology of Bühler’s extrusion and processing equipment with Givaudan’s new culinary facilities and its expertise in flavor, taste, ingredient, and product development.  

Outfitted with a pilot-scale wet and dry extruder, a state-of-the-art product development kitchen, storage facilities, meeting amenities and a viewing area where visitors may tour the 400-square-meter facility and view live demonstrations, the Protein Innovation Centre is constructed with the end-to-end process of plant-based protein production in mind. 

Businesses will also benefit from support throughout the co-creation process, from raw material selection to product development and research, to application, flavor science, extrusion, and consumer testing. At the Centre, customers can develop high-quality products suitable for Asian culinary applications at scale. The facility can produce up to 40 kilograms of plant proteins an hour and features dry extrusion, as well as a newer wet extrusion technology that delivers a fibrous structure more akin to muscle, and higher protein content as compared with dry extruded products.  

Monila Kothari, APAC president, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing, said: “We are proud to be part of a partnership that will contribute towards a sustainable food future for Singapore and the APAC region. Through the Protein Innovation Centre, we aim to create an ecosystem that supports start-ups and food businesses in an environment of co-creation. 

“The Centre will provide them access to the expertise, networks and technology required to create authentic plant-based protein alternatives that meet consumer needs and expectations. By bringing flavor solutions that are vegetarian, vegan, plant-based and natural, as well as technologies such as wet extrusion to Singapore and the region, we are helping to make plant-based foods more delicious, authentic, and accessible to business and consumers. We are excited to open our Centre in Singapore, a country that is a hot bed for FoodTech Innovation.” 

Ian Roberts, chief technology officer at Bühler, added: “Great tasting and sustainable protein alternatives are an important contributor to feeding 10 billion people sustainably by 2050. The changes that need to happen to our protein value chains prior to that are so deep, they can only be achieved if the various partners of the food ecosystem start working together today.

“The Protein Innovation Centre that we open today with Givaudan at the core of Southeast Asia’s vibrant food ecosystem, is a step towards achieving our vision of a collaborative and sustainable future of food. The Protein Innovation Centre will not only enable the development of more plant-based protein products across Asia, it will also ensure delicious products can be scaled to the production volumes required to create a positive environmental impact on our food chains.”