Natural ingredient solutions manufacturer CP Kelco announced the opening of its new global innovation center in Atlanta, GA on Monday. The new collaborative space will enable scientists and the firm’s customers to research ingredients, work together on solving problems, develop new products, and pilot plant scale-up of food, beverage, home care, personal care and other consumer and industrial products.

“With our new innovation center, we’ve invested significantly in our commitment to provide a world-class customer experience and deliver on our brand promise of ‘Unlocking Nature-Powered Success’ through innovation and problem solving,” Didier Viala, president of CP Kelco, said in a release. “We’re excited about taking our global capabilities to a new level and further exploring the possibilities presented by key trends and growth opportunities – all with a sharp focus on meeting the evolving needs of our customers and consumers today and into the future.”

Located at CP Kelco’s US headquarters, the 24,000-sq-ft facility is one of four global innovation centers across the company’s footprint. The other sites are in Brazil, California, and Denmark. CP Kelco also operates four regional application lab facilities in China, Dubai, India, and Singapore.

“We designed the new innovation center with collaboration in mind,” Jennifer Aspen Mason, senior vice president of innovation for CP Kelco, said in a statement. “It was designed to be welcoming to our customers while inspiring creativity and ideation. The sectors and manufacturers we serve need partners that are not only highly skilled but also passionate and agile in staying ahead of trends and helping them accelerate product development.”

The Atlanta location houses microbiology, fermentation science and consumer and industrial applications development, and research and development labs, as well as a pilot plant to support production scale-up and a sensory evaluation space. Visitors to the innovation center can also utilize a large chef’s kitchen on site and an open meeting space with videoconferencing capabilities.

“We warmly welcome existing and new customers to the new innovation center to see our capabilities firstand and collaborate with us, either virtually or in person,” James Schkade, senior vice president of global commercial for the company, said in the release.

CP Kelco’s products include xanthan gum, carrageenan, diutan gum, microparticulated whey protein concentrate, fermentation-derived cellulose, and more.