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Symrise Asia Pacific has invested in a new dedicated facility focused on natural, sustainable and plant-based innovation in Singapore. The new facility is housed within SPark, the flavour house’s multi-functional innovation and technology centre. It aims to address the move of the food and beverage industry towards natural and plant-based alternatives, considering Data Bridge Market Research that forecasts the Asia Pacific health and wellness food market to grow at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2022 to 2029. Medardo Villafana, technical director for savoury, research and technology at Symrise, said that the investment into the facility – named Enhanced Naturals @SPark – is “future-proofing” the business. The purpose-built labs focus on thermal treatments, extraction and biotransformation. They build on Symrise’s understanding of consumer needs, enabling sustainable and plant-based innovation across categories such as culinary, dairy and beverages. Symrise said that it will offer more options to customers to cater to the rising demand of discerning consumers. A co-development area will also be included, capable of hosting up to 20 people, aiming to support spontaneous conversations and co-creation with customers. Kapil Sethia, president of food and beverage for Asia Pacific at Symrise, commented: “Enhanced Naturals gives us the technology & capability to collaborate with our customers on clean label solutions, authenticity and elevate the use of natural ingredients. Consumers in Asia will progressively demand the use of natural ingredients in food & beverage products.” He added: “With sustainable practices, we continue to strengthen our Taste, Nutrition & Health presence in the space of naturals that directly ties to the strategic objectives of Symrise as an Augmented Flavor House”.