ADM on April 22 celebrated the opening of a new plant-based innovation laboratory, located in the company’s Biopolis research hub in Singapore. According to ADM, the new laboratory will develop next-level, on-trend and nutritious products to meet growing food and beverage demand in the Asia-Pacific region.

“ADM is a pioneer in plant-based nutrition innovation, and this new facility will enhance our ability to meet rapidly growing consumer demand in the Asia-Pacific region and bring exciting new products and solutions to the market,” said Leo Liu, president, Asia-Pacific, ADM. “Protein continues to be a focus for consumers who are experimenting with plant-based options to meet their health and nutrition, sustainability and convenience preferences, and with Asia being home to 60% of the world’s population, Singapore is a critical hub of innovation and growth around plant-based alternatives. This lab will help ADM deliver advanced customer solutions in this area while also creating jobs and offering development opportunities for young talent in the Asia-Pacific region.”

A broad range of employees will be housed in the facility, including experts in proteins and texturing ingredients, as well as flavor specialists. The new laboratory gives ADM the ability to test flavors, textures, fats and binding characteristics in-house and accelerate product development for customers. Additionally, the laboratory provides for medium-scale sampling through a variety of forming and freezing capabilities to support market evaluation of new products and solutions.

“The opening of this innovation lab demonstrates our continued investment in plant-based protein and our commitment to finding new ways to solve the challenges of changing consumer taste and preferences not only in Asia-Pacific, but also around the world,” said Marie Wright, chief global flavorist and president, creation, design and development at ADM. “The lab will help us capture key insight and learnings to help drive exciting new solutions for the Asian market, but also help us better serve customers around the world looking to incorporate Asian flavors and preferences into their latest plant-based food and beverage innovations.”

In addition to the new plant-based innovation laboratory, the ADM Biopolis research hub includes a food and flavor analytic laboratory; a beverage and dairy applications laboratory and pilot plant; a bakery and confectionery laboratory; a meat and savory laboratory; a sweet and savory creation laboratory; sensory evaluation facilities and a customer innovation center.

ADM has more than 3,000 employees throughout the wider Asia-Pacific region, across 50 locations, including integrated management offices in Shanghai and Singapore; technical innovation centers in China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia; flavor production facilities, sweeteners and soluble fiber complex in China; animal nutrition facilities, grain origination and trading operations across Asia; grain destination marketing warehouses in China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand; and sales offices strategically located in all major markets across the region. ADM also owns a minority stake in Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd., an agribusiness and packaged food and oil company in the region.