IFF has announced the opening of its new Nourish Innovation Lab at the company’s Union Beach, New Jersey research and development center. In the state-of-the-art lab, scientists—including flavorists and food designers—will leverage tools, technologies, and ingredient expertise to offer customers full product design, driving growth in the global food and beverage markets by fast forwarding innovation.

“This new facility is a testament to how we pioneer innovation and drive speed to market and accessibility to our customers,” said Nicolas Mirzayantz, president of Nourish, IFF. “We will nurture an innovation project from concept to kitchen table, under one roof. Using our scientific knowhow, application excellence and full portfolio of ingredients, we’ll improve the taste and nutrition profiles of next-generation food and beverages. With our new culinary kitchen, we’re enabling technology focused on the consumer-eating experience, taking food development out of the traditional lab setting and into the kitchen.”

Conveniently located in the greater New York City area, the cutting-edge lab will integrate IFF R&D projects with commercial applications desired by consumers, with a special focus on wellness, sustainability, and advancing the circular economy. IFF scientists will co-innovate with customers throughout the entire process, allowing for increased customer feedback and faster commercialization.

“Translating leading-edge science into consumer products requires ingenuity and iteration,” said Gregory Yep, IFF executive vice president, chief research and development, global integrated solutions and sustainability officer. “The Nourish Innovation Lab is yet another example of how IFF continues to invest in scientific discovery. At this location and around the world, our best-in-class science bench is foundational to our strategy to bring customers specialized insights, while continuously looking for new challenges and developing new-to-world solutions.”

“At the Nourish Innovation Lab, IFF will service customers using the full portfolio of products from today’s IFF, which includes proteins, maskers, modulators, sweeteners, seasonings, functional ingredients, cultures, and enzymes,” said Mauricio Poulsen, vice president of Global Innovation, Creation & Design, Nourish, IFF. “The innovation lab will support both the creation and design needs of all key categories, including snacks, beverages, savory, sweet, dairy, pharma, and oral care. The site is the global hub for enabling technologies including a full-scale sensory and consumer insights lab, as well as an analytical lab.”

The Nourish Innovation Lab is one in a series of aggressive investments IFF is making to broaden co-creation capabilities. The 160,000-square-foot Union Beach facility has served as IFF’s premier taste and scent research center for more than half a century, and includes a botanical garden, sensory science wing and pilot manufacturing site. The lab’s proximity to scientists from different backgrounds will allow for further collaboration and out-of-the-box solutions which blend science and creativity.

“Our investment in Union Beach reinforces our commitment to deliver advanced technologies and solutions in lock-step with our customers,” said Adam Janczuk, vice president of global research and development Nourish, IFF. “We’re proud of this accomplishment, which closely follows the openings of our regional innovation centers in Latin America, and the plant-protein focused Culinary Design Center in Brabrand, Denmark. We can’t wait to leverage these new opportunities to drive forward what’s next in food by combining science and creativity.”