Arla Foods to build innovation centre in Denmark

Danish food company Arla Foods is planning to build an innovation centre in Nr Vium, Denmark, with a focus on whey.

Built with an investment of €36.3m, the new innovation centre will be part of Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI), a subsidiary of Arla, and also will house scientists and innovators.

The scientists and innovators will be engaged in discovering and delivering new ways of using milk and whey to serve the needs of the world’s growing population.

Arla Foods CEO PederTuborgh said: “The world’s population is growing, which increases the need for healthy and sustainable food. It is a big challenge, and in Arla we want to be part of the solution.

“We know that dairy nutrition can play an important role in securing a healthy and balanced diet for people across the world, and with this innovation centre we will use cutting-edge research and technology to explore milk and whey to their full potential as ingredients for a wide range of nutrition.”

Spread across 9,000ft² , the new facility will feature office spaces, labs, as well as a pilot plant. Construction of the centre is expected to begin next year and open in 2021.

The centre will create 90 employment opportunities.

Arla Foods Ingredients group vice-president Henrik Andersen said: “Our customers are always looking for new solutions to adapt to changing consumer demands.

“Our focus is to explore all the components in the milk and whey and combine them to enhance the nutritional or functional value of a product.

“Together with our customers, we will explore this even further in our new innovation centre to help them develop new products that meet the specific nutritional needs of children, athletes, patients and consumers.”