IFF opened a new co-creation center in Wageningen, the Netherlands, enhancing its capabilities and facilities to drive research and innovation, to better serve its global customers.

The new site will be located in the "Food Valley" of the country, an area that is home to many food multi-nationals and a growing number of start-ups.

“This space brings us closer to our key customers, driving engagement, and enabling them to co-create with us on-site and in-person,” said Laurens Reiber, regional creation and design director, Europe, IFF. “Furthermore, the Food Valley is a thriving innovation ecosystem, and coupled with access to academia, we can now strengthen our collaboration on projects exploring the future of food. Our new co-creation center will help IFF deliver on its core goal of driving insights-led innovation to enable our customers to win. We’re hugely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The IFF co-creation center will allow IFF to provide on-site support to key customers and other members of the Food Valley ecosystem. At its heart lies Wageningen University, one of the top food-oriented academic institutions in Europe, with which IFF has partnered for research purposes for many years.

The center’s facilities will include advanced laboratory equipment, including a demo kitchen, application lab and innovation space where product concepts can be presented and tested.  Additionally, the space will be home to key IFF experts, including senior product designers. The lab will also be equipped to support the creation of new flavors for culinary and sweet applications.