Arla Food Ingredients Unveils New Innovation Center

Arla Foods subsidiary Arla Food Ingredients (AFI) announced Sunday that its new Innovation Center opened in Nr Vium, Denmark, expanding opportunities for collaboration between the company, university researchers, food and nutrition products manufacturers, and technology firms.

“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,” Niels Østergaard, vice president, Research & Development for AFI, said in a statement. “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.”

Staffed by about 100 scientists and technicians, AFI’s 9,000-sq-m facility contains laboratories for clinical trials, a pilot plant, and office spaces. Research will examine ways to boost the functionality and shelf life of milk and whey, and examine the potential of advanced separation technology.

The new center was constructed next to the company’s Danmark Protein plant for protein concentrate and lactose products, including infant nutrition.

“It was vital for us the Innovation Center 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,” said Østergaard. “This is truly living up to our purpose of delivering the wonders of whey.”