The facility offers a full range of capabilities and equipment to help customers move from development on the benchtop to small scale-up production in the pilot plant that will inform and accelerate final large-scale production. The pilot plant is focused on scaling up beverage production and will support applications such as juices, ready-to-drink coffee and tea, sports drinks, carbonated soft drinks, sparkling water, energy drinks, as well as dairy & plant-based products like milks, creamers, and protein shakes.

The pilot plant was designed to enable strong collaboration within the dsm-firmenich and customer teams during benchtop development as well as to incorporate consumer feedback into the overall development process. The new pilot lab is strategically adjacent to both the dsm-firmenich development labs as well as to the consumer sensory lab and focus group room which enables the voice of the consumer to be brought into the process throughout development. In addition, the area is designed with a conference room with a direct view of the pilot facility which maximizes collaboration with customers.

 “With this new pilot plant, we offer our valued customers and partners a comprehensive set of capabilities and the latest cutting-edge equipment, all carefully designed to foster collaboration, improve consumer insights, and accelerate time-to-market. We have built a solid infrastructure in Plainsboro propelled by an incredibly talented team with a strong innovation network. It’s truly an inspiring place to work, together with our customers, partners, knowledge institutes and talents," said Chris Perkins, senior vice president Taste, Texture & Health North America.