Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) celebrated the opening of its new regional office and state-of-the-art flavor and ingredient creation, application, development and customer innovation center in Shanghai, China, this week. The opening of the space was announced at a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“With today’s busy lifestyles, people are turning to healthier eating habits, accelerating changes in consumer tastes and preferences at an unprecedented rate. For ADM, Shanghai has played a critical role in our continued growth and innovation. To help Asia Pacific food and beverage customers remain a step ahead, we’re excited to leverage our technology, expertise and global scale,” said Donald Chen, ADM president, Asia.

The Shanghai technical innovation center will enable ADM to work closely with customers to create complete flavor and specialty ingredient solutions. It will be staffed by a team of food scientists, flavorists and applications experts, along with sales, marketing and regulatory personnel. The new Shanghai facility joins our recently opened Singapore Innovation Center in helping ADM meet growing demand in the region.

“Around the world, ADM continues to invest to ensure that we are the go-to solution providers for clean-label, sustainable ingredients and great taste,” Vince Macciocchi, president of the ADM Nutrition business, said. “This new facility enhances our portfolio and capabilities ensuring our customers meet consumer demands for new, innovative food and beverages.”

The new innovation center features a wide range of capabilities, including a food and flavor analytic lab, beverage and dairy application labs and pilot plants, a bakery lab, a confectionery and personal care lab, a culinary kitchen, flavor creation labs, sensory evaluation facilities and a customer innovation center.

China is home to approximately 675 ADM employees, with application labs in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou; a flavor production facility in Beijing; sweeteners and soluble fiber complex in Tianjin, and animal nutrition facilities in Dalian, Tianjin, Nanjing, Zhangzhou and Xiangtan.

ADM has more than 1,000 employees throughout the wider Asia Pacific region, where the company operates a wide range of processing facilities, including several animal feed facilities, a flavor and ingredient facility, food and flavor labs in Japan, Singapore and Australia and sales offices in every major market in the region.