Givaudan, MISTA (a food innovation platform), and Bühler announce the opening of a state-of-the-art extrusion hub at the MISTA Innovation Center in San Francisco. The opening of this new facility advances MISTA’s capabilities in driving food innovation and highlights Givaudan's and Bühler’s commitment to supporting the transformation of the food system.

This collaborative effort between Givaudan and Bühler offers companies the opportunity to conduct innovative and effective product development trials for their extruded products. Equipped with a 30mm twin-screw Bühler extruder, the hub enables both high moisture extrusion, such as plant-based meat production, and low moisture extrusion, including snacks and cereals. Unlike smaller benchtop extruders, the results obtained at the facility can be translated to full-scale production equipment. With an output of up to 50 kilograms per hour, companies can now explore new possibilities in product development with ease.

Fabio Campanile, global head of science and technology, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing, highlighted the company's commitment to plant-based alternatives, innovation, and the importance of partnerships. "Adding extrusion capabilities at MISTA expands our vast innovation network and further demonstrates our commitment to the alternative protein space. We believe that by working together and leveraging our collective expertise, we can continue driving the development of the food industry to deliver sustainable and delicious food experiences for consumers around the world." 

The hub at MISTA is the latest addition to the Global Innovation Network being built by Givaudan, Bühler, and others, further solidifying the collective dedication to driving innovation and supporting its customers worldwide. Other innovation facilities include Givaudan’s Zurich Innovation Centre, the Protein Innovation Centre in Singapore, and the Tropical Food Innovation Lab in Brazil. 

The hub launch coincided with the bi-annual MISTA in Action programme, held at the end of March. This event brought together industry executives, leaders, and start-up companies from around the world to network and explore the latest collaborative advances in the food industry. Attendees included representatives from consumer-packaged goods companies, ingredient players, equipment manufacturers, service providers, and premier funding companies in food tech.

During the event, Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler, delivered an inspiring keynote speech, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and technological advancements in shaping the future of the food industry. “Collaboration is key to building a sustainable future for food with the goal of feeding the expected 10 billion world inhabitants by the year 2050. The MISTA facility demonstrates that these collaborations provide real results. The partnership with MISTA, Givaudan, and Bühler is providing a world-class technology platform for food innovators to develop and scale the protein sources that will sustainably nourish the world’s growing population,” said Ian Roberts. 

"MISTA acts as a catalyst for companies to discover, integrate, and evolve new ways of working that will help power their innovation engine and accelerate the transformation of the food system," said Scott May, founder and Head of MISTA. "Through the nodal network, unique collaborations, access to new technologies and domain expertise, MISTA empowers companies to re-imagine innovation and drive positive change for companies and the industry. We are confident the addition of extrusion capabilities will help generate and accelerate many of the great-tasting food solutions needed to ensure a sustainable food future."