IMCD opens food and nutrition lab in Germany to unlock innovations

IMCD Group has opened its modernized Food & Nutrition application laboratory in Cologne, Germany. The specialty ingredient distributor and formulator aims to strengthen its technical expertise in food and nutrition, offering manufacturers a practical environment to develop new recipes, market-relevant concepts, and joint innovation projects. 

The new lab joins two existing centers in a new Life Science Hub. For the first time, IMCD combines three specialized laboratory areas under one roof: Food & Nutrition, Pharmaceuticals, and Beauty & Personal Care. 

“The new Life Science Hub strengthens interdisciplinary product development and provides our food and beverage customers with a best-in-class environment for application support, technical consulting, and regulatory support with the aim of developing innovative and market-ready solutions,” explains Daniel Kany, business unit manager of Food & Nutrition at IMCD Germany.

Specialized laboratories

The new addition combines market and industry expertise with technology to offer solutions for complex formulation tasks across all food and beverage market segments, including nutrition, beverages, bakery, dairy, and fruits and vegetables. The technical focus of the local experts includes solutions for taste, texture, nutrition, and function.

The hub’s Pharmaceutical Technical Centre has been operating for over 10 years to support the development of formulations for pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements. The center offers “state-of-the-art” equipment and technologies for solid, semi-solid, and liquid formulations to support manufacturers in developing patient-friendly dosage forms.

Moreover, the center can work with a broad portfolio of excipients from suppliers and has expertise in flavor masking to enable innovative formulations, including regulatory advice, practical training, and exchange in a global laboratory network.

In the Beauty & Personal Care laboratory, technical experts support brands to develop formulations for skin care, sun protection, hair and body care, fragrances, and cosmetics. In the lab’s beauty studio, IMCD creates tailor-made product prototype concepts with its customers.

Additionally, the laboratory provides formulation training, sample kits, individual application tests, and seminars on current trends and ingredients.

Exploring synergies

According to IMCD, combining all three laboratories in one Life Science Hub creates synergies that “allow innovative formulations to be developed faster and more practically.”

“With our modern equipment, the test kitchen, and the interdisciplinary interfaces, we can support our customers even more specifically with demanding recipes,” says Katja Wilmes, application technologist of the Food & Nutrition Business Unit at IMCD Germany.

“Whether we intensify the taste, improve the mouthfeel, extend the shelf life, or enrich products with nutrients, we combine the right ingredients with technical expertise. This results in new solutions that can be quickly adapted to changing market conditions.”

In related business news, dsm-firmenich concentrated its Taste, Texture & Health business unit in its recently opened Van Marken Food Innovation Center in Delft, the Netherlands. The center includes labs for cheese, bakery, and brewery segments, a co-creation kitchen, and offers solutions for healthier and more sustainable diets.