Nutrition and health ingredients leader dsm-firmenich has opened a bakery innovation facility in New Jersey, US. The company says that the Princeton Baking Innovation Center will help customers accelerate innovation, improve agility, and co-create applications such as breads, rolls, pastries, tortillas, cookies, and snack foods with greater speed and precision.

The advanced workspace has “cutting-edge” technology to help the site’s expert bakers, product developers, technical experts, applications scientists, flavorists, and sensory scientists make baked goods tastier and healthier.

Baked goods manufacturers and brand owners will benefit from access to tasting panels, concept screening technologies, and dsm-firmenich’s holistic portfolio for the bakery sector.

The center’s solutions include modulating flavors to support sugar and sodium reduction, protein and grain masking, specialized dairy and non-dairy concentrates for improved taste, texture, and cost efficiencies, sweeteners, enzymes, hydrocolloids, colors, and preservation solutions, and fortifying ingredients, including proteins, omega-3s, and vitamin premixes.

The streamlined facility will enable faster, more integrated product development and minimize the impact of fluctuating raw material costs, such as cocoa, eggs, and vanilla.

Chris Perkins, senior vice president for Taste, Texture & Health North America at dsm-firmenich, says: “Our Princeton Baking Innovation Center underscores our ambition to bring progress to life by empowering our customers to create bakery products that not only taste incredible but are also healthier and sustainably produced. This state-of-the-art facility is a game changer, allowing deeper collaboration and innovation at an unprecedented speed and scale.”

Renee Riegman, sales director for Baking, Confectionary, Ingredient Processing North America at dsm-firmenich, adds: “The center builds on dsm-firmenich’s decades of baking expertise in North America. It equips our customers and passionate team of experienced baking technologists with the tools to break new ground in delicious, nutritious, and sustainable baked goods.”

The investment is part of dsm-firmenich’s broader €700 million (US$788 million) commitment to advance its global research and development capabilities.

The center is strategically positioned in Princeton, close to dsm-firmenich’s key customers, commercial partners, and major transportation hubs, while also serving as a collaborative hub for partners across North America.