Givaudan, Bühler, Cargill, Ital and The Foodtech Hub LATAM have jointly announced the opening of Tropical Food Innovation Lab, an innovation ecosystem for the development of sustainable food and beverages focused on the Brazilian biodiversity.

Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, the innovation center is located in a 1,300 square meter area within the Institute of Food Technology (Ital) and is the result of a consortium formed by the founding companies in collaboration with the Food Tech Hub LATAM and Ital.

The hub's infrastructure includes small-scale processing lines in the pilot plant equipped with state-of-the-art wet and dry extrusion systems for plant-based proteins. Soon, a beverage processing unit will add complementary resources to Ital's existing facilities. The space also features application and analysis laboratories. In the cutting-edge demonstration and experimental kitchen, companies, food engineers, nutritionists, chefs, mixologists and other professionals will be able to collaborate to create new products. In the interaction areas, there is a coworking space for creative workshops and pitching.

The Tropical Food Innovation Lab is the latest addition to Givaudan’s global innovation network, which provides the specialized expertise, technology and solutions to accelerate new product development and co-create exciting new food experiences with customers. Other facilities include the Protein Innovation Center in Singapore, the Zurich Innovation Center in Switzerland, and the MISTA Center in San Francisco.

With more than 20% of the planet's plant biodiversity, spread across six major biomes, and a food industry that historically accounts for 10% of GDP, Brazil is among the largest global producers and exporters of grains and protein.

“This innovation ecosystem, not by chance located in Campinas, a reference city for technology in Brazil, brings together the intellectual, technological, scientific and creative power to establish the best connections and solutions for the food chain. It also contributes to Brazil's prominence, which is already a global exponent," said Paulo Silveira, manager of the lab and founder and CEO of FoodTech Hub LATAM.