New NPD focus for Nestlé

Swiss food giant Nestle is to open the doors of a brand new global culinary development and technology centre in Singen (southern Germany).

The company said this week that the move will result in a more efficient buildup, transfer and application of knowledge and technology for culinary products worldwide within the Nestle Group.

The initiative aims to bring R&D personnel, currently based at the Product Technology Centre Kemptthal (Switzerland) and the Research and Development Centre Weiding (Bavaria) onto the same site.

The new unit, called Nestle Product Technology Centre Singen, will focus on culinary products, both dry and wet, as well as baby food. Chilled dessert product development presently in Weiding is to be transferred to Nestle's Product Technology Centre in Lisieux (France).

As a result, the Product Technology building in Kemptthal will be sold to flavour and fragrance company Givaudan, which has already purchased the Kemptthal factory. The Weiding R&D premises will remain the property of Nestle​ Germany.

In the highly competitive world of consumer food production, innovation is clearly an essential element on the road to continuing success. Nestle wrote in a statement that it "expects these moves to improve and accelerate its product research and development cycle in the culinary area…and leverage its R&D efforts as a key element of its world-wide culinary strategy"​.