Bühler locks in win at SBR International Business Awards

Its collaborative project with Givaudan to open a plant-based food facility lands it a victory in the Food Manufacturing Solutions category.

Bühler took home the Food Manufacturing Solutions trophy during the recently concluded Singapore Business Review’s International Business Awards 2020, thanks to its collaboration with Givaudan to open a unique Innovation Center dedicated to plant-based food in Singapore.

The award programme aims to honour first-rate international businesses in Singapore and recognise their contributions to the Southeast Asia economies.

Bühler was recognized as it supported the Singapore ecosystem through the opening of Asia’s first Innovation Center dedicated to plant-based food which is said to help bring plant-based meat alternatives in the market.

With the inefficiencies in the protein supply, feeding the future population is expected to pose numerous challenges in terms of supply and sustainability. The role of meat consumption is also increasingly becoming under scrutiny as it uses up a large share of protein supply available whilst contributing heavily to green gas emissions.

To that extent, innovating in “meat alternatives,” products that supply protein whilst fitting eating habits, has become a necessity. This new meat revolution is now taking shape, with new alternatives emerging from crops, such as peas and chickpeas, to create products that mimic meat in texture, taste, and cooking profile.

With this in mind, Bühler collaborated with Givaudan to open the new Innovation Centre which will become operational at full capacity from 2021. The facility is located at Givaudan Woodlands site, bringing together a pilot plant featuring Bühler extrusion and processing equipment and a kitchen and flavor laboratory by Givaudan.

Upon its opening, the facility can be said to boost collaboration with start-up accelerators, such as Big Idea Ventures, and produce at capacity 30kg of new meat alternative per hour in a food grade environment, making it suitable for testing for market validation.

This initiative is well aligned with the government goals to produce 30% of Singapore’s food in the country by 2030—an ambitious objective that will ultimately bring new technologies to strengthen food sufficiency in the region.

Bühler’s Head of Technology Dominique Kull said that the appetite for meat will continue to grow as economies get stronger in Asia, if food manufacturers manage to bring products to market that surpass customers’ expectations, part of that demand will be filled by new emerging meat alternatives,

“This is where I believe the Innovation Centre will generate a great impact. The facility will help to accelerate product development and the transfer plant-based food expertise to local players in Asia,” he added.

Kull notes that the facility will be key to assess whether products are ready for industrial scale and mass market production.

"Meat alternatives need to evolve from a culinary experience to a daily staple, only if we manage that transition at scale, will we bring benefits to the sustainability of the food value chain. New markets like this one don’t open every day, this is truly an exciting time for the entire food industry.”, he concludes.

Please refer to www.buhlergroup.com for further information.   

Watch the interview below to know more about their winning project: