ADM opens new innovation centre in the Netherlands
The centre, opened late last year, offers pilot facilities, technical demonstrations, cocoa and chocolate seminars and will be the firm’s designated centre for cocoa power, cocoa mass and cocoa butter.
The company said the facility in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands will contain pilot facilities for ice cream, dairy, bakery, cereals and chocolate confectionery and contain an auditorium for scientific explanations and assessments of deZaan products.
‘Unique opportunity’
Rinus Heemskerk, director of innovation at ADM Cocoa International, told ConfectioneryNews.com the centre provided a “unique opportunity” to benefit from the firm’s experience in the sector.
“Due to fluctuating cocoa powder prices, manufacturers are faced with increasingly high formulation costs. To overcome this, ADM has developed the “Less is More” programme, which aims to provide the same taste and quality but from a smaller amount of specially processed and selected cocoa powder,” he said.
Cocoa and chocolate seminars cover topics including cost reduction, formulation optimisation, sustainability and innovation. The firm said they expect to attract customers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Cocoa demand
Heemskerk said: “Cocoa and chocolate continue to be popular in Europe, and there is abundant growth in Africa and the Middle East.
“We think that the new advantage centre in Koog will be an inspiring setting for innovation in cocoa and chocolate. Alongside ADM’s other advantage centres in Mannheim, Liverpool and Singapore, the centre in Koog will provide additional support in the Europe region in particular”.
ADM employees 30,000 people worldwide in 265 processing plants to convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses in more than 160 countries.
