The facility will develop new solutions within a wide range of specialised dairy and whey ingredient categories.
Globally, the specialised ingredients market is valued at €10 billion and is expected to grow at a high pace within the coming years. With the new innovation centre, Arla said it is is able to further tap into this growth by intensifying its innovation efforts and taking its business to the next level both within its core markets in Europe, China and the Americas.Dairy Innovation Centre
The facility will be home to up to 100 scientists and technicians, who will have access to state-of-the-art facilities, including laboratories for clinical trials and a pilot plant and office spaces.The teams put in place will cover all aspects of research and development within whey and milk – from advanced separation technology to improved functionality and shelf-life.
Niels Ostergaard, vice president of research and development at Arla Food Ingredients, said:“I am very proud and have been looking forward to this day when we open our new Arla Foods Ingredients Innovation Centre. It will deliver a huge boost to our research and development capabilities, and we’re incredibly excited about the possibilities it offers.“Working with our scientific and industry partners, we’ll be able to undertake more research, embark on ambitious new projects, and innovate to tackle some of the world’s most urgent food and nutrition challenges."
Centre location
The innovation centre is located right next to Danmark Protein – Arla's flagship production plant that produces whey protein concentrate and lactose products, including for infant nutrition. Ostergaard continued: “It was vital for us for the innovation centre to be at the heart of our supply chain. This is the closest to the highest quality raw materials that it could possibly be, enabling us to fine tune ideas and scale them up in one quick and streamlined process."This is truly living up to our purpose of delivering the wonders of whey.”
The centre has also been designed to create synergies between leading university researchers, PhD students and industry professionals. Partners will include academic institutions in Denmark and overseas.
Earlier this year Arla signed an agreement with Dale Farm, which will see the Northern Ireland-based dairy processer supplying whey concentrate directly to Denmark.