Planteneers, a provider of plant-based food ingredient solutions, is opening a new Customer Center of Excellence in Illinois, US, this month.
Headquartered in Germany, Planteneers provides customisable ingredient solutions and production services to companies in the plant-based food space. Its offerings include texturizers, colour and flavour solutions for vegan and hybrid products.
The opening of the new site in Aurora, Illinois, forms part of the company’s expansion into North America. The global Planteneers team, along with a dedicated US team, have been focusing on growing the company’s footprint and brand within the North American market over the past three years.
Within the facility, a plant-based meat laboratory will be available for Planteneers to host customers for collaborative development sessions. A plant-based dairy laboratory is also planned for launch shortly after the ribbon cutting, which will take place during a special grand opening event on Wednesday 26 June.
The centre aims to enable the creation of ingredient solutions that work for US consumers. It will house team members from sales, distribution, marketing, product management and R&D departments. Kyle Borkovec, R&D manager for North America at Planteneers, will focus on meeting consumer expectations in this region.
Brian Walker, CEO of Planteneers, said: “Plant-based is becoming more important in the North American market. New, innovative products that are similar to conventional animal products will be easier for consumers to integrate into their daily lives, since they fit existing habits.”
He added: “At our new Aurora location with production, R&D and the upcoming Customer Center, we can address customer-specific requirements for the US market even better”.
