Fashion
Kerry, a global leader in taste and nutrition solutions for the food and beverage industry, today announced the opening of its expanded Regional Development and Application Centre that is also designated as the first Centre of Excellence for Meat in Bangpoo, Thailand. The opening is part of a larger series of upgrades to Kerry’s Bangpoo facility, designed to increase Kerry’s local innovation pipeline as well as its research and application capabilities.
Spanning more than 8,500 square metres, and equipped with the latest technologies, Kerry will use the state-of-the-art facility to work with local customers on all stages of their product development – from ideation to application and manufacturing – for a range of categories including meat, snacks, bakery, dairy and beverages.
The dedicated meat centre, unveiled today, includes best-in-class taste and functional technologies, allowing Kerry to co-develop signature meat profiles based on different protein types, helping customers keep pace with the technically challenging and fast changing meat markets in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region. With in-house application, sensory and culinary meat experts, the centre is well positioned to develop commercially viable and innovative products at an unrivalled speed to market.
Another upgrade to Kerry’s Regional Development and Application Centre announced today is new facilities for food and beverage brands to develop authentic, savoury tastes and flavours. Drawing on Kerry’s expertise and market-leading position in cooking methods such as smoke and grill, the fully-equipped application lab includes the latest Clean Smoke technology, for F&B brands to experiment with using smoke condensate to add a signature taste and smoke profile to meat, vegetables, dessert and even beverages.
The additional down packing and blending lines not only double the centre’s production capacity but also provide food service customers with greater flexibility and efficiency in how their food products are packed.
“Thailand is a priority market and an important regional hub for many of our customers in South East Asia and beyond, so we’re delighted to be launching these new, world-class multi-application facilities in Bangpoo,” said John Savage, President & CEO, Kerry APMEA.
“Consumer food and beverage tastes are changing rapidly due to the region’s growing urban middle class and this is creating huge opportunities for the F&B sector. We’re excited to combine our 15 years of heritage in Thailand with the very latest technologies and innovation to help our customers stay ahead of the curve and grow their market share now and into the future,” he added.
Home to application labs, interactive customer suites and industry-leading research and sensory facilities, the centre also includes customer engagement kitchens and beverage bars where Kerry’s in-house chefs, mixologists and baristas will develop new menu concepts alongside customers.
Experienced food scientists and technologists will also work alongside dedicated teams of sensory scientists to develop products that surpass consumers’ expectation when launched. As one of the largest food manufacturers in the world, Kerry is also committed to achieving the highest standards of sustainable best practice. As part of this commitment, the centre employs automated pouch filling technology to reduce energy consumption and improve operational efficiency.
