The Atlanta, Georgia-based innovation center is designed as an open, collaborative space for scientists and customers to engage in ingredient research, problem-solving, development and pilot plant scale-up of food, beverage, home care, personal care and other consumer and industrial products.
“With our new innovation center, we’ve invested significantly in our commitment to provide a world-class customer experience and deliver on our brand promise of ‘Unlocking Nature-Powered Success’ through innovation and problem-solving,” said Didier Viala, president of CP Kelco.
“We’re excited about taking our global capabilities to a new level and further exploring the possibilities presented by key trends and growth opportunities – all with a sharp focus on meeting the evolving needs of our customers and consumers, today and into the future.”
Located within CP Kelco’s US-based corporate headquarters, the 24,000 square-foot innovation center joins three other global innovation centers (Brazil; California, USA; and Denmark) and four additional regional application lab facilities (China, Dubai, India and Singapore).
“We designed the new innovation center with collaboration in mind,” said Jennifer Aspen Mason, senior vice president of innovation at CP Kelco.
“It was designed to be welcoming to our customers while inspiring creativity and ideation. The sectors and manufacturers we serve need partners that are not only highly skilled but also passionate and agile in staying ahead of trends and helping them accelerate product development.
“The best kind of innovation happens when we’re collaborating with our customers, solving formulation challenges, discovering new applications and customizing solutions just for them.”
Unique to the new center are labs devoted to microbiology, fermentation science, and consumer and industrial applications development. The center also houses research and development labs, a food and beverage pilot plant to support customers with production scale-up, and a sensory evaluation space to conduct sensory studies for understanding consumer perceptions and preferences.
The new innovation center, which will have a staff of more than 20, also features a large chef’s kitchen and open meeting space with skyline views. The customizable space has videoconferencing and collaboration technology for workshops and other forums.
“We warmly welcome existing and new customers to the new innovation center to see our capabilities first hand and collaborate with us, either virtually or in person,” said James Schkade, CP Kelco’s senior vice president of global commercial.