Roquette Inaugurates Food Innovation Center in France

Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients, celebrates today the grand opening of its new Food Innovation Center, located in its historic Lestrem site, right in the heart of Europe. The company is a trusted partner to food industry players in addressing major global challenges such as population growth, aging, and demand for new, healthier and more sustainable diets. As part of its strategy, Roquette’s Food Innovation Center will provide formulators with a large range of capabilities, including technical and R&D support, cutting-edge equipment, labs and scale-up testing. 

According to a survey conducted by Innova in 2023, the largest portion of consumers looks for health benefits when choosing new products. However, consumer food choices involve various other dynamics, such as value for money, taste and indulgence, and sustainability. With diets and food purchasing habits changing at a rapid pace, the food sector needs to adapt quickly and follow a continuous innovation strategy. Roquette supports this transition with its new Food Innovation Center, contributing to the growth of a new gastronomy highlighting new tastes, new textures, and whole new culinary experiences. 

The Food Innovation Center serves as a hub for collaboration and co-creation, providing formulators with comprehensive support and solutions for their process and formulation challenges. The facility features a demonstration kitchen, a sensory analysis laboratory, collaborative spaces, and pilot-scale testing labs for various food applications. It caters to all food sectors, including dairy, savory, confectionery, bakery, beverages, and specialized nutrition, offering a wide array of capabilities to benefit food industry players.

Pascal Leroy, Senior Vice President of Core Ingredients at Roquette, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "We view this inauguration as a significant boost for innovation in the global food sector. Our group takes pride in introducing this remarkable facility, which will meet the demand not only in Europe but also worldwide. The Food Innovation Center equips our customers with plant-based ingredients and the necessary capabilities to overcome challenges in their product development process, enabling them to progress quickly and efficiently."

The Food Innovation Center houses state-of-the-art equipment, including high-moisture extrusion (HME), an ultra-high temperature (UHT) line with direct steam injection for dairy and beverage applications, and a tableting press simulator. Roquette's expert team at the center leverages these resources, sensory analysis tools, and a wide range of analytical capacities to assist food companies in tackling diverse formulation challenges, spanning physical, chemical, rheological, and nutritional aspects.

Isabelle Routier, Head of Food Customer Technical Services (CTS), emphasized the center's objective of fostering innovation from the early stages of product development through collaboration with food industry players. The center's worldwide network, internal expertise, co-development sessions, and technical training facilitate knowledge sharing and know-how development.

Roquette's team of scientists and technical developers support food formulators in various ways, including enhancing the nutritional profile while maintaining appetizing taste, elevating sensory experiences, conducting lab and pilot testing, and formulating cost-effective and sustainable new products. The Food Innovation Center serves as a unique space to cultivate a more collaborative relationship with customers, driving forward innovation in the food industry.