3 Ways dsm-firmenich’s New Innovation and Application Center in South Africa will support Brighter Futures

Talking Nutrition Editors

Supporting innovation and new concept developments

  • This week, dsm-firmenich celebrated the opening of its Innovation and Application Center in Isando, South Africa, which will support food and beverage and nutrition improvement customers in the region with the development of new nutritional concepts and solutions.
  • As well as benefiting from dsm-firmenich’s long-standing experience in the food and beverage and nutrition improvement markets, the Innovation and Application Center will give customers access to scientific expertise and state-of-the-art capabilities.
  • The new center, opened with an introductory section led by Andre Rhoen – Vice President, Human Nutrition & Health EMEA, dsm-firmenich – supports dsm-firmenich’s goal in providing regional support to its customers and highlights exciting co-innovation opportunities for partners worldwide.

Enabling bright science to support better lives for all

As a purpose-led global science-based company, being able to deliver innovative products and solutions is central to dsm-firmenich’s business success and positive societal impact. The new Innovation and Application Center in Isando, South Africa, enables and accelerates innovation and R&D for customers in the region looking to develop nutritious food and beverage products or nutrition improvement solutions that will help to combat malnutrition. During the opening ceremony, food and beverage and nutrition improvement customers, as well as relevant media, were invited to attend several presentations from key dsm-firmenich spokespeople and guest spokespeople from the nutrition industry. In addition, visitors were given the opportunity to tour the Innovation and Application Center’s advanced, state-of-the-art facilities and create nutritional concepts from scratch.

Andre Rhoen, who introduced the new center, highlighted why its development was important in the Africa region, “We are passionately committed to achieving a brighter future for everyone through continuous innovation; and to be a positive contributor to the changing world, we recognize that it is only through collaborative working that we can create pioneering, tailored solutions that enable brighter living. In order to work together effectively, we believe it is important to be near our customers so that we can fully support them and their specific needs. By being close to our customers, and in countries where consumers would benefit most from innovative nutritional solutions, we are leading the way in improving the health and wellbeing on populations globally. The new Innovation and Application Center in Isando, South Africa, is just another example of our commitment to our partners worldwide.”

With its unique science-based competences, dsm-firmenich is also ideally positioned to align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, by enabling sustainable solutions for its customers and advocating sustainable business.

Overcoming malnutrition: Innovation and expertise is essential

Guest speaker at the opening ceremony, Bibi Giyose, Senior Nutrition and Food Systems Officer and Special Advisor to the NEPAD CEO, explained why overcoming the global malnutrition challenge is central to giving individuals the opportunity to reach their full potential and help communities prosper. Nutritional deficiencies remain prevalent throughout the world, particularly in developing countries such as Africa where a healthy, nutritious diet is often inaccessible or unaffordable. Today, two billion people worldwide suffer from hidden hunger for example – a form of malnutrition which refers to a diet high in calories but lacking essential vitamins and minerals – making it a major public health concern. The consequences of inadequate nutrition can be devastating, not only for an individual’s health and development, but also for societies and healthcare systems at large.

The fortification of popular foods such as wheat, maize and rice with essential micronutrients is a safe, proven and affordable method of addressing micronutrient deficiencies and improving access to nutrition amongst vulnerable populations. As well as having the expertise to tackle malnutrition within low-income populations, by being present in Africa, where the malnutrition issue is prevalent, Bibi concluded that dsm-firmenich is well placed to support customers with the development of effective solutions that will help to overcome this significant challenge. Further to Bibi’s presentation, Professor Lyal White – Senior Director of the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) – emphasized the importance of feeding growing global populations, particularly in Africa where the population is expected to rise significantly. To meet these demands and succeed in providing nutritional solutions for the world’s most vulnerable populations, innovation is critical.

Through its nutrition improvement activities, dsm-firmenich has been offering high quality, affordable and innovative nutritional solutions in the developing world for decades; with support tailored to the needs of local communities. It primarily does this through staple food fortification, public health supplementation i.e. point-of-use-fortification which utilizes micronutrient powders (MNPs), and therapeutic or emergency foods in situation, where access to food is limited. Fundamental to improving nutrition in vulnerable communities is continued innovation. As well as benefiting from its long-standing experience and evolving capabilities in the nutrition improvement market, customers utilizing the Innovation and Application Center will be supported by an unparalleled network of nutrition, science, technical, innovation and business experts. Ultimately, this will help food and beverage, and dietary supplement, manufacturers develop effective, safe and affordable products, including food fortification solutions, that have been proven to fill nutritional gaps and support the health of populations worldwide.

Competitive advantage

In addition to helping customers develop nutrition improvement solutions, the new Innovation and Application Center will also benefit food and beverage customers. As consumers worldwide become increasingly health aware, they are demanding food and beverage products that offer functional benefits beyond nutrition. Through its state-of-the-art technologies and consumer-driven innovation, dsm-firmenich’s Innovation and Application Center will help customers to develop on-trend, nutritional products that consumers will love, giving them a competitive advantage in the market.

During the event, food and beverage visitors were invited to tour the laboratory with Head of Innovation, Application & Premix Formulation EMEA, dsm-firmenich, Swen Wolfram. Showcasing its expertise on the day, Swen highlighted dsm-firmenich’s PeptoPro® and Fruitflow® nutraceutical ingredients for advanced muscle recovery and healthy blood flow respectively. With sports nutrition becoming a major trend throughout the nutrition industry, customers also had the opportunity to create their own sports drink concepts, which they were invited to take away and use for future development.

What’s next for dsm-firmenich?

This is just the beginning of efforts to be closer to customers worldwide, with more exciting developments to be announced in 2020, including the opening of a new Innovation and Application Center in Cairo, Egypt, that will service customers and partners in the Middle East.

For more information on dsm-firmenich’s new Innovation and Application Center in Isando, please contact our local team! 

 

Published on

29 May 2019

Tags

  • Health Benefit Solutions
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Innovation Services
  • Application and Technical Services
  • Article
  • R&D

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