Nestlé has inaugurated a new R&D Accelerator to drive innovation and speed to market of sustainable dairy products as well as plant-based dairy alternatives.

Located at Nestlé's research and development (R&D) center in Konolfingen, Switzerland, the R&D Accelerator provides a world-class platform for startups, students and scientists to leverage Nestlé's unique dairy and plant protein expertise to quickly bring products from ideation to commercialization.

Nestlé Konolfingen is the company's largest R&D center for dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives and is an integral part of the Swiss innovation ecosystem. The R&D center develops new product concepts for Nestlé’s dairy and infant nutrition businesses before they are introduced to consumers around the world.

Speaking at the inauguration, Nestlé chief executive officer Mark Schneider said, "Innovation in milk products and plant-based dairy alternatives is core to Nestlé's portfolio strategy as well as our sustainability agenda. As a company, we have set ambitious climate goals. This is part of our promise to develop products that are good for you and good for the planet."

The R&D Accelerator in Konolfingen features a fully equipped test kitchen and a co-working office space. Internal, external and mixed teams will leverage Nestlé's capabilities to bring novel ideas from concept to test shop in only six months. They will have access to Nestlé expertise and key equipment such as small- to medium-scale production equipment to facilitate the rapid upscaling of products for a test launch in a retail environment.

"Our goal is to provide startups, students and Nestlé scientists with key resources to quickly explore new ideas through a six-month test and learn approach. By tapping into our expertise in food science, food safety, regulatory, manufacturing processes and packaging, they can rapidly upscale and test new products in real market conditions,” said Thomas Hauser, head of global product and technology development at Nestlé.

The R&D Accelerator in Konolfingen is part of Nestlé's global R&D Accelerator initiative, which was first launched at Nestlé Research in Lausanne, Switzerland.