IFF expands Europe Innovation Hub with new flavor creation labs

IFF, a global leader in solutions for food and beverages, health, biosciences, and scent has increased its innovation capabilities with two new state-of-the-art flavor labs at its facility in Northern Europe. The sweet and culinary flavor creation labs are the latest addition to the company’s expansive campus that has been in operation since 1964, spanning more than 312,150 square feet in Brabrand, Denmark.

The innovation hub is home to more than 400 employees engaged in research, application development, ingredient and flavor creation. The expanded facility will enable local and regional manufacturers to work in close partnership with a new team of flavorists who will introduce the latest modulation technologies and develop solutions for the beverage, bakery, dairy, snacks, culinary, bars and confectionery end markets. Working with an extensive library of proprietary flavor ingredients they will create exciting and unique flavor experiences for consumers, especially in areas such as masking, sweetness and umami.

“This expanded facility is a testament to our continued investment in innovation to meet evolving consumer expectations,” said Jan Bechtel, regional president of Nourish Europe, IFF. “We will continue to build on our deep expertise and scientific knowledge and invest in tools and products to bring what matters most to consumers in the market: creating the next generation of delicious, healthy and experiential food and beverages.”

Expert flavorists will have access to IFF’s latest research innovations, particularly in plant-based and biotechnology, along with resources like pilot plant manufacturing, ingredient expertise and evaluation studios, creating the perfect environment for end-to-end product design.

“We’re thrilled to launch these flavor labs,” said Laurens Reiber, creative director, Nourish Europe, IFF. “Brabrand is already a massive innovation center, and its location helps us better understand local market preferences and deliver trending global flavors. Now we’re investing further to boost our speed-to-market capabilities and to bring greater value to our partners.”

Following the completion of the Culinary Design Center last summer in Denmark, the opening of the new flavor labs is the company’s latest investment in R&D to develop winning solutions that meet customer and market needs with speed, agility and creativity.