Nestle's Singapore R&D Centre celebrates 40th anniversary

NESTLE'S R&D Centre in Singapore is celebrating its 40th anniversary in August, with a newly renovated R&D building featuring upgraded state-of-the-art facilities which include experimental kitchens and sensory evaluation rooms.

As Nestle's first Asian R&D Centre was in Singapore, the 40th anniversary is an important milestone in the company's presence in Asia. The centre opened in 1980 in response to the fast economic growth in the region and to enable the development of innovations tailored for South-east Asian consumers.

Over the years, the centre developed its expertise in areas such as fermentation, and plant-based food, resulting in patented technologies and the launch of a range of many products across multiple brands and categories.

Guglielmo Bonora, centre head of Nestle R&D Centre Singapore, says: "Today, the R&D Centre employs about 180 people representing over 20 nationalities. The staff consists of food scientists, technologists, engineers, packaging experts and other technical areas. The centre collaborates closely with the global R&D network and plays a key role in supporting Nestle innovations for categories such as plant-based dairy, coffee mixes, Milo, out-of-home solutions and ice cream, not only for South-east Asia, but also for Oceania and beyond."

The Swiss-headquartered multinational company's renovated R&D building here also has an R&D Accelerator with a fully equipped test kitchen, as well as a co-working office space for students, startups and employees.

"The R&D Accelerator in Singapore is part of Nestle's global R&D Accelerator initiative which was first launched at Nestle Research in Lausanne, Switzerland. It will provide a world-class platform for startups, students and Nestle employees in the region to bring products from ideation to commercialisation in six months. The teams will have access to Nestle's R&D expertise and key equipment such as small to medium scale production equipment to facilitate the rapid upscaling of products for a test launch in a retail environment," says Mr Bonora.

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Nestle is committed to reducing added sugars in its products to help people live healthier lives. Using proprietary technologies, it was able to develop its Milo product with 50 per cent less table sugar and 30 per cent more protein while maintaining its signature taste. The product is labelled with the Health Promotion Board's Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS). It is the result of collaborative work between experts at R&D Nestle Singapore, the global Nestle R&D network, and the Nestle Jurong factory in Singapore.

Mr Bonora highlights that Nestle's R&D Centre in Singapore serves as the regional innovation hub for the development of plant-based dairy alternatives in Asia.

The development teams worked hard to deliver the iconic Milo taste using only plant-based ingredients. The new version replaces the milk in the original recipe with almond and soya, but the other two core ingredients - malt and cocoa - remain the same. Each bottle offers 6.5g of protein and is also low in sugar, with a combination of vitamins and minerals to support effective energy release. It is currently available in Malaysia with more markets to follow.

"We offer a wide range of great-tasting, nutritious, and sustainable plant-based products for both our retail and out-of-home business. This includes a variety of plant-based alternatives to dairy made from rice, oat, soya, coconut and almonds. Examples include non-dairy ice cream, coffee creamers, rice- and oat-based drinks. We also recently launched a vegan Kit Kat alternative," he adds.

Nestle's plant-based alternatives to meat include alternatives to burgers, mince, meatballs, sausages, cold cuts, chicken nuggets, and chicken fillets. It is also focused on making sure that its products incorporate Asian cuisine applications such as dumplings, stir-fry, braising, katsudon, and more. For this, the company leverages its R&D Centre in Singapore as well as other centres located in Beijing, China and Manesar, India.

To complement its internal capabilities, Nestle also works closely with academic institutions and public organisations. "For example, we have a strong strategic partnership with A*Star, which allows us to collaborate with a range of research institutes. Another example is the collaboration with the EpiGen Consortium, an alliance with researchers in Singapore, as well as in Southampton and Auckland, which focuses on pregnancy, infancy and childhood growth and metabolic health," says Mr Bonora.

The decision to commercialise research projects depends on many factors including the feasibility to deploy or industrialise the proposed solution, business strategy, as well as operational capabilities, he adds.

Nestle R&D Centre Singapore, as the oldest and largest R&D Centre of the company in Asia, is an integral part of its global network of over 23 such centres worldwide.

The Singapore centre focuses on creating new food and beverage products for South-east Asian consumers, while also acting as the R&D centre of expertise for dairy solutions, coffee mixes and ice cream solutions for consumers worldwide. Its strategic geographical location in the heart of Asia also enables Nestle to have a strong collaboration with innovation partners, universities, and startups, adds Mr Bonora.

Nestle says that it is the world's largest food and beverage manufacturer with more than 2,000 brands ranging from global icons to local favourites and is present in 186 countries worldwide.