Ramping up its Research & Development (R&D) focus, Cargill opened the Cargill Innovation Center in Gurugram, Haryana, to develop innovative solutions that address food and beverage (F&B) market trends. Cargill will partner with its F&B customers in India to identify consumer demands, translate global industry trends into local application and accelerate customer product innovation pipelines by co-developing healthy, nutritious food options for consumers.

This first state-of-the-art Innovation Center in India, spread over almost 17,000 square feet, includes a sensory lab and demonstration kitchen to serve dairy, beverage, bakery, convenience food industries, and other specialized culinary applications. The Innovation Center combines Cargill's expertise across different industry segments, including edible oils and specialty fats; starches, sweeteners, and texturizers; cocoa and chocolate; and tailored blended ingredients under one roof, bringing a complete product innovation solution to the F&B industry.

To promote a healthy and nutritious diet in line with the progressive food standards in India, the Center will help customers reformulate products that are lower in fat, salt, and sugar while maintaining taste and texture. This also connects Cargill's customers in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa to a global network of 10 other innovation centers and over 2,300 food scientists worldwide. The Innovation Center will have 27 food specialists/scientists and will provide opportunities for aspiring talent from academia, agribusiness and food sectors as well. It will also allow R&D collaboration for companies of all sizes.

Simon George, President – Cargill India, said, "Consumer choices are rapidly evolving towards healthy food, without compromising taste, and this calls for product innovation. We are making our customers the centerpiece in co-creating innovative solutions for discerning, health-conscious consumers in India through this Innovation Center. This facility combines our global food science knowledge with Cargill's businesses' size and scale to bring together unique R&D and food value chain capabilities, all under one roof. We will help develop healthy and nutritious products that mirror market trends."

According to the company, the Innovation Center will be equipped with the most advanced applications and analytical capabilities, such as an Ultra High-Temperature Processing (UHT) pilot plant and a chocolate processing line, to develop market-driven solutions. It will combine the strength of global know-how and local capabilities to help ensure faster delivery of solutions to our customers. The center will use Augmented Reality (AR) to live-stream practical demonstrations remotely to our customers. The opening of this innovation center marks another milestone in Cargill's three-decade-long journey in India and its commitment to contribute to India's development.