FDBusiness.com

Arla Foods has broken ground on its new modern innovation centre for the ingredients business in Nr. Vium, Denmark. Global demand for highly specialized products and ingredients is increasing and with the new innovation centre, Arla Foods Ingredients will further intensify its innovation efforts and take dairy and whey ingredients to the next level to meet the need for nutritious and sustainable food. The new innovation centre will be home to leading international scientists and innovators.

Over the coming years, Arla Foods Ingredients´(AFI) segments are expected to continue to grow at a high rate. Therefore, Arla Foods is investing more than €40 million in the new innovation centre which will be located in close proximity to the key production site in Arla Foods Ingredients, Danmark Protein.

It will be a 9,000 square metre state-of-the-art facility with open office spaces, labs and a pilot plant, and the close interaction between the new AFI Innovation Centre and Danmark Protein will create a unique environment for process development and pilot production to unleash all the wonders of whey.

Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) is an Arla Foods subsidiary that has transformed whey from what was once considered a waste product to premium, high quality ingredients used for infant nutrition, clinical nutrition, sports nutrition, health foods and other foods and beverage products.

Henrik Andersen, Group Vice President of Arla Foods Ingredients, comments: “We are always looking for new and innovative solutions for our customers to help them develop new products that meet specific nutritional needs of children, athletes, patients and consumers. With the new centre we can use cutting edge research and technology to explore milk and whey to their full potential as ingredients for a wide range of nutrition.”

At the centre, up to 90 scientists, technicians and innovators will cover all aspects of research and development within whey and milk – from advanced separation technologies to isolate specific components of the whey or milk, to heat treatment and pasteurization technology to improve functionality and shelf-life.

“It is our clear ambition to continue to attract the very best colleagues who share our mission of discovering and delivering all the wonders whey can bring to people’s lives. The colleagues working with innovation in AFI are already among the most talented in the world and we look forward to welcoming more employees to this new and exciting workplace with some of the most challenging development projects in the dairy industry,” says Vice President of Research & Development Niels Østergaard.

Arla’s belief in innovation being the key to unlocking the future of dairy was demonstrated when it opened Arla Innovation Centre (AIC) in Skejby, Denmark in 2017. This innovation centre now employs 130 people.

The new AFI Innovation centre is expected to open in summer 2021.